53. Biennale di Venezia

Curriculum Vitae

In the single year of 2008 Lee has won forty honorable recognitions across the globe:
the World-Wide Competition 2008 of the 3rd Art (Painting) organized by World and Universal Academy in Netherlands (winning Grand Prize);
the RWS / Sunday Times Watercolour Competition in UK;
the Royal West of England Academy 156th Autumn Exhibition;
the L'Chayim Art Show in USA (wining 2nd Place);
four French International Autumn Salons.
His artwork has also been invited to exhibit in the museums and expositions of great renown: Russian Academy of Arts, Bankside Gallery in London, Shanghai Art Museum in China, Haggin Museum in USA, Museum of Kyoto in Japan, Gallery Gabrichidze in Belgium, Gallery Silver Brush in Finland, and Florence Biennale 2009 in Italy, just to name a few.
Recognizing his creativity, many international-celebrated art societies in Europe, America, and Australia have granted him membership, of which is the 1754-established Royal Society for the Encouragement of Art, Manufactures & Commerce, best known as RSA - the first art society that was conferred upon the title of "Royal" in British history.
Inspired by his Buddhist practice and built upon Chinese cultivation, Lee develops "totemic energy oil painting" to embody in Western oil art the profundity of Chinese culture and Zen sensibility. He is especially renowned for incorporating "totems," images manifesting the wisdom of ancient civilizations, in his art creation. His artworks capture the harmony of heaven and earth, and aim to awaken the glory, perfectibility, and benevolence of humanity. He wishes that the viewers can resonantly share his vision, acquire deeper understanding of spirituality, mind, nature, and existence, and gain the sense of tranquility.

ART CRITICS AROUND THE WORLD
Former Director of Venice Biennale 1980 & 1993, Prof. Achille Bonito Oliva
His art is not only rooted in abstract art in the strictest sense, since it reminds us of the inspirations revealed in the works of Balla, Kandinskij, Klee, Arp, Mirò and Matisse. His artistic research therefore has many references that are also symptoms of an extremely broad cultural horizon. The work of Lee Sun-Don creates its own original and distinctive style through the combination of several philosophies in a language that escapes its formal order.
Form is the threshold through which imagination declines its attitudes. In his case, painting is the tool that directs a linguistic universe not according a freezing project, but rather according to a bias for taking away, a subtle discipline based on the subtraction of certainty to the benefit of a rigorously structured probability.

IL Tempo Roma Newspaper
Italy Master Lee is the "Modern Oriental Picasso."

LA Splash Magazine, USA
Master Lee is...the first to ever incorporate...Buddhist ideologies with contemporary western art in oil painting. Master Lee has been dubbed the "Pioneer of Totemic Energy Oil Painting." His approach is both innovative and thought-provoking.

Eleanor Heartney, Former President of AICA-USA, the American Section of the International Art Critics Association.
His loose, gestural works provide lyrical representations of states of ecstasy, harmony and contemplation while literally embodying the transformative energies of the universe......Both the brushstrokes and the colors express various aspects of the Dharma. Each [painting] contains a "totem", a symbol of universal energy and harmony, apprehended in the process of deep meditation. Each totem is designed to spark a sense of enlightenment and transcendence in the viewer.

Marcello Cazzaniga, Art Director, Camaver Kunsthaus International, Italy
We are pleased to announce that Lee Sun-Don has been selected by Camaver Kunsthaus International as the Top Artist of the world. He is the fifth artist in the whole world who has been awarded this highest honor since the 1940s. All his work and a motion of the spirit, a mystery by revealing, a situation to be contemplated and espolare. This ripo of art has little to do with artistic aesthetic, and above all a way to liberate the essence cosmic entirely through the inner point of view of who performs the act: the artist.

Denise Williams, Art Director, Santa Fe Art World
I see many things, many powerful messages in these works. Yes, not only are they the prizes we were looking for in their execution, but the message is more vibrant as a result as they are cast from the spirit on a clear day uninterrupted...You touch my heart. It is important for the artist to lay their soul on canvas, Master Lee achieves this. This is why his work is a conduit of energy, why it heals, why it is more than telling a well executed visual story and exactly why the work comes to life for it is a living entity from his hand, his soul.

Aldo Carrozza, Art Critic, Italy
The art that the Zen Master wishes to bring is a path that allows us to better understand the teachings of Buddha through certain symbolism. And in order to free one's spirit and collect the true sense of everything, we might take the path of meditation. Through the paintings, we... see the semantics, the meanings of the symbols.

Mao Daizong, Dean, The School of Fine Arts of Shandong College of Arts, China
A painting artist is to receive and respond to all the phenomena and to directly face all the manifestations of the world with the mind as a bright mirror that never rejects but takes, reflects, and embraces all existences. That is the so-called Great Dao goes through; it reaches and manifests. The clouds shy away and the sun shines; the waters are clear and the mountains are green." With such a mind in concord with the great universe, Mr. Lee lets his respect and humility toward the Buddhas outshine his skills and techniques in painting. He simply forgets about the techniques: he is just like an innocent kid, enthusiastically picking a bouquet of wildflowers for his mother-without any sense of nobleness or lowliness, goodness or evil, but pure love. When we are guided by Lee's artworks to get in touch with the glory of the Buddha, will we still care about the techniques of his painting at all? Colors and lines all become the paths to and manifestations of Great Dao.

Zhang Liping, Chair, Department of Fine Arts, Art College of Xiamen University, China
I know not much about Buddhism, but I enjoy Sun-Don's works very much. My instinct tells me that his works are simple and yet inspiring; his employments of colors are bold and powerful and yet his brushstrokes are neither obsequious nor overbearing but balanced and proportioned. It is as if he is preaching within, leisurely, trying to share with us something behind a schema and beyond the paints and brushes. Neither the painting style, the charm of the brushstrokes, or the gist of his works is common. His artworks reveal the aura of serenity and composure, and the languages of his expression are crisp and clean. I believe that for those who study or practice Buddhism, they should be able to perceive and experience even more profound meanings from his works.

Wang Di, Art Critic, China
The artist endeavors to demonstrate the open-mindedness, positive thinking, and esprit of Zen aesthetics in painting. In one sense, his endeavor is in succession to the Chinese literati's tradition of "Zen contemplation" prevailing during the Tang-Song period (618-1279); in another sense, he adventures to explore the frontier of the modern art. The motifs of his artwork capture the sense and sensibility of the modern time and the gist furthermore brings spiritual resonance and awakening to the viewers - What Lee accomplishes has already transcended beyond the domain of religion.

Honors & Awards in Art
Selected Honors & Awards of 40 Recognitions in 2008~2009 :
Royal West of England Academy 156th Autumn Exhibition,
Royal West of England Academy, UK
The RWS/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2008, Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) and The Sunday Times, UK.
World-Wide Champion of the 3rd Art (Painting) and Golden Prize of the 3rd Art (PAINTING) in the category of Erotic Painting, Silver Prize of the 3rd Art (Painting) in the category of Landscape Painting, World and Universal Academy Foundation in partnership with the WUACADEMIA Company, Netherlands.
The 25th Exposition of Salon International 2008, European Academy of Arts-France, France.
The Tabernacle Art Competition, Museum of Modern Art, Wales, UK.
Bankside Gallery Summer Exhibition 2009, Bankside Gallery, London, UK
The Florence Biennale 2009, Arte Studio in association with Ministry for Cultural Heritage in Italy, Florence, Italy.
The 27th International Autumn Salon, Lunéville, France.
The 14th International Salon of Art, Argelès Art Group and Argelès Municipal, Valmy (Argelès-sur-Mer), France.
The 55th Stockton Art League Juried Exhibition, The Stockton Art League, USA.
Winning Second Place, the 6th Annual Juried Art Show, Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina, USA. (The artwork Grand Luck;Beyond Compare was selected as the front of the invitation postcard of this Art Show.)
The 6th Cesi Palace Exhibition, Green Lion: The Creative Spirit Itself, Camaver Kunsthaus International and Acquasparta Municipal, Acquasparta, Italy.
XXIX Gredos Prize For Painting, San Pedro, Spain
Solo Exhibition in the Exhibition 2008 Autumn, Gallery Gabrichidze, Brussels, Belgium.
Best of the Year 2008, Marziart International Gallery, Hamburg, Germany.
The international tour exhibitions of Olympics Fine Arts 2008, PRC Ministry of Culture in association with International Olympic Committee. Exhibitions will be held in Beijing, Greece, Switzerland, USA, etc.

Membership in Art Societies
Royal Society for the Encouragement of Art, Manufactures & Commerce, UK. (Life Fellow).
Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, UK
Society for All Artists, UK.
International Association of Two and Three Dimensional Artists (IATTDA), UK.
European Academy of Arts-France (Académie Européenne des Arts-France), France.
The Allied Artists of America, USA.
Oil Painters of America, USA.
American Society of Contemporary Artists, USA.
Landscape Artist International, USA.
California Art Club, USA.
Santa Fe Art World, USA.
Royal South Australia Society of Art, Australia.
Niki-Kai Exhibition Paintings & Sculptures, Japan.

Academic Activities in Art
2009 Apr. Tour Lectures at Peking University, Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Raffles Design Insititute in Beijing.
2008~ Visiting Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Xiamen University, China.
2008~ Visiting Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, China.
2008 Apr. Delivering the thesis "Totemic Energy Oil Painting vs. Life Science" at the international conference Toward a Science of Consciousness
2008, organized by the Center for Consciousness Studies, University of Arizona, April 8-12, at the Tucson Convention Center, Arizona, USA.
2008 Apr. Presenting theses and exhibiting documents on "Totemic Energy Aesthetics: Mind-Awakening Creation" in Ohio University Gallery. The exhibited materials had become the permanent collection of the Kennedy Museum of Art, Ohio University, USA.
2007 Oct. Delivering the thesis "Existence from Non-Existence: Totemic Energy Oil Painting from a Buddhist Perspective," October 3, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), USA.

Painting Footprints
2009 Dec. Florence Biennale 2009, Florence, Italy
2009 Oct. Art International Zurich 2009, Switzerland
2009 Oct. The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan
2009 Sep. ShContemporary 09, Shanghai, China
2009 Sep. Korea International Art Fair, Seoul, Korea
2009 Jul. Bankside Gallery Summer Exhibition 2009, London, UK
2009 Jul. The Russian Academy of Arts (former Imperial Academy of Arts), Moscow, Russia
2009 Jun. 53rd International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, Palazzo Pisani S. Marina, Venice, Italy
2009 Apr. Europ'art 2009, Geneva Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland
2009 Apr. Chongqing Art Museum, Sichuan, China
2009 Apr. China International Gallery Exposition
2009, Beijing, China 2009 Mar. Artspace Galleries, London, UK
2009 Mar. Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2009 Feb. Art Innsbruck 2009, Austria
2008 Nov. Gongwangfu (Palace of Prince Gong), Beijing, China
2008 Nov. Gallery Gabrichidze, Brussels, Belgium
2008 Sep. The Museum of Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
2008 Sep. The 55th Stockton Art League Juried Exhibition, The Haggin Museum, CA, USA
2008 Jul. Tabernacle Art Competition, Museum of Modern Art, Wales, UK
2008 Jun. Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an, China
2008 Apr. Artropolis, Chicago, USA
2008 Mar. Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2008 Feb. Art Expo, New York City, USA
2007 Nov. Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits, Paris, France
2007 Nov. The Artrium@MICA, Singapore
2007 Oct. Frontier Art, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA
2007 Jul. Persano Country Club, Salerno, Italy
2007 Jul. Miniaci Art Gallery, Milan, Italy

Permanent Exhibitions
Frontier Art X-Power Gallery premises located worldwide in Los Angeles (on Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, USA), Shanghai (China), Beijing (China),Taipei (Taiwan), Taichung (Taiwan), and Kaohsiung (Taiwan).

International Auctions
2009 Jul. Invited for Spring Auction in Shanghai by Dowmin Auction Co. Ltd.
2009 May Invited for Spring Auction in Beijing by Rongbao & Jiaxinchang Auction Co. Ltd.
2008 Dec. Invited for Autumn International Auction in Hongkong by Chieftown Auction (HK) International Limited.
2008 Dec. Invited for Autumn Auction in Hongkong by Sanobocho Art Auction Co. Ltd.
2008 Nov. Invited for Autumn Auction in Taipei by Art #1 International Auctions Enterprise.
2008 May The artwork The Buddha Is Delivering All Beings selected by Art #1 International Auctions Enterprise for Spring Auction in Taipei. This small-size painting (18" x21", 45.5 x 53 cm) was sold at an extremely impressive price of NT$3,068,000 (US$ 101,000), the highest among Taiwan's contemporary paintings of the same size.
2008 Apr. The artwork The King of Rulai Series 12 / Activate the Innate Nature to Meet Buddha (57" x 57", 145 x 145 cm) selected by Art #1 International Auctions Enterprise for Spring Auction in Hong Kong. Sold at the price of HK $ 5,750,000 (US $ 738,000), the highest of Taiwan's contemporary paintings.
2007 Dec. The artwork Freedom Beyond Freedom (51" x 64", 130x 162 cm) selected by Art #1 International Auctions Enterprise for Autumn Auction in Taipei. Sold at the price of US $ 570,000, the then highest of Taiwan's contemporary paintings.

Charity Auction
2009 May Two paintings donated for charity auction of "First Sichuan Earthquake Anniversary Fundraising" held in Shanghai, organized by Nobility Art Society. The proceeds go to Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation for rebuilding earthquake-damaged schools in Sichuan, China.
2009 Jan. Seven paintings donated for charity auction at the First Asian Art Top Show - 2009` Art Fair. All auction benefits went to Yellow Ribbon Project of China Charity Foundation, School of Foreign Language at Peking University, and Forshang World Foundation.
2008 Dec. One painting donated for charity auction at "2008 Annual Soiree" organized by Nobility Art Society. The auction proceeds went to Shanghai Wealove Foundation.
2008 Apr. The artwork Woman?The Sunshine of the World (32" x 32", 81.5 x 81.5 cm) donated for charity fundraising during the 2008 Spring Auction held in Hong Kong organized by Art #1 International Auctions Enterprise. The proceeds (HK $ 1,770,000 / US $ 228,000) went to Dream Fulfilled Foundation in support of the art education of China's poor children.

Music Composer and Pianist
2008 Concert of A Memoir of a Great Patriarch, Violin Concerto No.1 performed at the National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan.
2007 Nominated as the Outstanding Composer of Traditional and Art Music, the 18th Golden Melody Award, Taiwan.
2007 Concert of A Memoir of a Great Patriarch III, a suite for violin and orchestra performed at the National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan.
2006 Concert of A Memoir of a Great Patriarch II, a suite for violin and orchestra performed at the National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan.
2003 World debut concert of A Memoir of a Great Patriarch I, a suite for piano and orchestra performed at the National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan.
1999~ Composer & Pianist, A Memoir of a Great Patriarch Series-a series created in honor of the beloved mentor, Yuan-Dao Bodhisattva.
1993~1998 Composer, Forshang Dharma Music Series.

Writer (Zen Martial Arts Novelist)
2003 Ningfeng Tianxia. Taipei: Sun Boy International Company Ltd. Remarked as "introducing a new Zen literary style to the genre of martial arts novel."
1983~88 The Legend of Cicada Wing, together with other nine sets of martial arts novels.

Buddhist Publications
Supreme Huayan Series: The Diamond Sutra; The Vimalakirti Sutra (I & II); The Perfect Lotus (I & II); Treatises on Dharma Nature.
Secularization of Buddhism Series: Ultimate Forshang (4 volumes); Great Propitiousness in Life and Death.
Daily Practice of Buddhist Doctrines Series: Stories of Tacit Transmissions from an Elderly Monk; Sky, Earth, and the Cross.

Science Essayist
1998~ The Ninth Seal Series, covering issues on universal system, mathematics, human life science, cosmology, genetic medicine, food and health, and so on.

Welfare Sponsor
Culture and Art: sponsoring distinguished artists (e.g., Peter Faun, Pro Arte Orchestra), funding aboriginal students' education and cultural transmission, holding Forshang Cup Chinese Chess Championship.
Social Aids: Donation of RMB$ 500,000 for China's Sichuan earthquake relief, Donation of RMB$ 100,000 in support of a leukemia patient in Xiamen, China (also offering a job to her family member), Taiwan's 921 earth quake, south Asian tsunami, ORBIS (a globally recognized leading eye care charity), Mennonite Christian Hospital (Hualian County, Taiwan), The Good Shepherd Foundation of Catholicism, World Vision Taiwan, Taipei Woman's Social Welfare Services Foundation.
Sports and Recreation: sponsoring outstanding individual athletes (e.g., Gail Devers, the US two-time Olympic gold medalist) and sport teams (e.g., the Russian and the Outer Mongolian Bicycle Race Team, Fuyuan Primary School Baseball Team).

Lee Sun-Don

• biographical notes
• curriculum
• Time's Equal Sign
• opening party