Born in 1956 in Cheongdo, South Korea, Lee Bae graduated from the College of Fine Arts at Hongik University in the 1980s and currently creates between Seoul and Paris. He is widely regarded as a pivotal figure who bridged traditional Korean aesthetics with international contemporary art following the Dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) movement. Upon moving to Paris in 1990, a chance encounter with charcoal ignited a thirty-year profound exploration of "charcoal" and "blackness." For Lee, charcoal is more than a medium; it symbolizes the transformation of energy and the cycle of life. His iconic Issu du feu series reveals multi-dimensional layers of light and shadow through the cutting, collage, and polishing of charcoal fragments. In his recent Brushstroke series, he returns to the physical dynamism of calligraphy, leaving decisive, Zen-like marks on translucent canvases.Lee Bae’s artistic achievements have garnered significant international acclaim.

In 2018, he was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and he was named "Artist of the Year" by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) in 2000. His works have been exhibited at prestigious global institutions, including Rockefeller Center in New York (where he was the first Korean artist invited for a solo presentation in 2023), the Venice Biennale as a collateral event (2024), and the Musée Guimet in Paris. His masterpieces are held in renowned public collections, including the MMCA, Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), Leeum Museum of Art, France’s National Foundation for Contemporary Art (FNAC), and the Musée Guimet.