Kang Seung Lee, born in 1978 in Seoul, lives and works in Los Angeles, he graduated with an MFA at the California Institute for the Arts (2015).  His work often deals with the legacy of transnational queer histories, particularly when they intersect with art history. He focuses on the intersection of visual culture history with an emphasis on forgotten or marginalized narratives. His research practice repositions queer archives and collections, linking together gréographies and experiences considered distinct to create new sites of knowledge. The genealogies represented in his work manifest themselves in a variety of information from disparate sources. His most recent projects are inspired by the lives and work of Asian and Asian-American queer artists who have died of HIV/AIDS, such as Tseng Kwong Chi, Oh Joon-soo and Martin Wong. In these projects, kinship and intimacy take the form of care, and question the erasure of queer figures who preceded it and remain invisible today. This process allows other historical voices to emerge. These counter-narratives create spaces that preserve intergenerational memories, making it possible to coexist in multiple temporalities.

Solo exhibitions have been held at Vincent Price Art Museum, Los Angeles (2023); Gallery Hyundai, Seoul (2021); Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles (2021, 2017, 2016); Hapjungjigu, Seoul (2019); One and J. Gallery, Seoul (2018); and Artpace San Antonio (2017). Selected group exhibitions have been held at documenta 15, Kassel (2022); Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena (2022); New Museum Triennial, New York (2021); 13th Gwangju Biennial (2021); MASS MoCA, North Adams (2021); Asia Culture Center, Gwangju (2020); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (2020); Daelim Museum, Seoul (2020); and LAXART (2017). Lee is a recipient of an Angeles Art Fund Artadia Award (2023), California Community Foundation Fellowship for Visual Artists (2019), and Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant (2018). He has participated in residencies at MacDowell (2022); 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica (2020); Artpace San Antonio (2017); and Pitzer College, Claremont (2015).

Lee’s work is in the collections of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence.