Artist Statement
Yoonthology
Good and Evil on our Hand
Yoonjung Lee uses her sculptural paintings as narrative pieces to discuss mental health topics. She is passionate about exploring the concepts of self-acceptance, making choices, and inspiring the blossoming of new possibilities. By depicting multiple faces within a single portrait, Lee can portray diverse perspectives emotions, and pique curiosity about the many elements within the piece.
She begins by layering acrylic paint to create scenes of realistic fairy tales. Lee’s creative process combines happy coincidences and carefully planned, intentional movements of meditation and writing. With a thick layer of acrylic paint on the canvas, Lee uses her hands to manipulate and form basic shapes. She then uses a palette knife, brush, or any nearby sharp tool to layer fine details and writing throughout the piece. The writings within her pieces are subtle and cryptic, like a private conversation that’s being overheard but not fully understood. By layering movements and adding small details, Lee creates a rough shape that gradually builds into a path to the unique imagination. Many uncanny aspects are hidden throughout the piece that will lead the viewer on a personal journey.
Lee’s work evokes introspection within the viewer, forcing them to think about how they perceive the world around them and to question their positive or negative perspectives. Her work expresses that there is always a brighter side to seemingly dark situations, like the two sides of a coin. The chains used throughout her pieces show that it’s possible to break our self-imposed boundaries and limitations, allowing us to seek new possibilities.
CV
EDUCATION
2023 MFA Mount Royal, Maryland Institute College of Art - Baltimore, MD
2016 BFA Fine Art, School of Visual Arts - New York, NY
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITION
2021 Serendipity, Factory Gallery – Seoul, Korea
2021 Delightful Agony, Becky Gallery – Jeonju, Korea
2021 Naïve Dreams, Art Sppace Kimyo – Seoul, Korea
2020 Acceptance, Factory Gallery – Seoul, Korea
2019 Relationship_Wabisabi, CY Art Space – Seoul, Korea
2019 Follow your Flow, Gallery Ilho – Seoul, Korea
2019 Portrait of You, H Contemporary Gallery – Seungnam, Korea
2019 Silhouette of Surroundings, Space Ryu, Gyunggido, Korea
2018 Portrait of Mind, SeoJin Art Space - Seoul, Korea
2017 Love Yourself Be Yourself, Alternative space Noon - Suwon, Korea
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITION/ FAIR
2023 Dreaming reality_현실속 희망을 얘기하다, KCCU gallery, New Jersey, USA
2023 Fleeting Presence, Nomu Nomu – Maryland, USA
2023 PLAS 2023, COEX exhibit hall – Seoul, Korea
2023 Art of Caring,_CASA, American Visionary Museum – Maryland, USA
2023 Youth, Gallery PaL – Seoul, Korea
2023 MTR Thesis Show, Meyerhoff and Decker Gallery – Maryland, USA
2023 Rebirth Restart, Rosenburg Gallery – Maryland, USA
2022 Holding Tension, Riggs and Leidy Gallery – Maryland, USA
2022 Portraits, eco rock gallery – Kyung Gi, Korea
2021 Creative Destruction, Ban Social Club – Incheon, Korea
2021 One Wall, Two Wall, Floor, Riggs and Leidy Gallery – Maryland, USA
2020 Colors of Memory, Yoonion Art Space – Seoul, Korea
2020 Ban Social Club, Ban social club – Incheon, Korea
2020 Colours of Memory, Art Space Kimyo – Seoul, Korea
2019 Guang Zhou Fall Art Fair, Canton Exhibition Hall – Guang Zhou, China
2019 Chihada Art Fair, Frottage Gallery – Seoul, Korea
2019 Present on May, Leesu Gallery – Seoul, Korea
2019 Design Fair 2019, Seoul Art Center – Seoul, Korea
2019 Maslow’s Dream, Austrian Residence – Beijing, China
2019 Open Studio, Red Gate Gallery – Beijing, China
2019 Dreaming Future, Gallery ilho – Seoul, Korea
2018 Seoul Art Show, COEX exhibit hall A – Seoul, Korea
2018 SEEA, Seungnam Art Center – Gyunggido, Korea
2018 DaeJeon International Art Fair, Daejeon Expo- Daejeon, Korea
2018 NES Alumni Exhibition, Deiglan Gallery – Akureyri, Iceland
2018 The Look of New Media, Young Art Gallery- Seoul, Korea
2018 Opið hús, Nes Residency - Skagastrond, Iceland
2018 Artist Statement#3, CICA Museum - Gimpo, Korea
2018 World Fair Exhibition, Canton Museum of Art, - Ohio, USA
2017 Color, CICA Museum - Gimpo, Korea
2017 Temporary Identity, Galerie102 - Berlin, Germany
2017 Nothing New Under the Sun, Astudio2352 - Seoul, Korea
2017 Just like yesterday, Compeung - Chiang Mai, Thailand
2016 Vague Name of Time, Rabbithole - Brooklyn, NY
2016 SVA Open Studio 4-17, School of Visual Arts - New York, NY
2016 Glitches in the Grass, Rabbithole - Brooklyn, NY
2016 One Consciousness, BronxArtSpace - New York, NY
2015 Hi-Res/LoRez, SVA Flatiron Gallery - New York, NY
2014 DIG, The Firehouse Space - Brooklyn, NY
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
05/2019 Duplo Artist Residency, Cadiz, Spain
03/2019 Red Gate Residency, Beijing, China
04~05/2018 NES Artist Residency, Skagaströnd, Iceland
06~09/2017 Gallerie 102, Berlin, Germany
04/2017 Cerdeira Village, Lousã, Portugal
01/2017 Compeung, Chiang Mai, Thailand
PUBLICATION
2021 YoonJung Lee’s Serendipity, Starting scrabble to the monologue of being and daily life - Art Guide Magazine
2020 Artist as a Transformers - Big Issue Magazine
2018 Artist Statement - Ebook
Article
아시아아츠(AsiaArts) - 2019/10/27
http://www.asiaarts.net/view.php?ud=DJ27204221525f6c6bd0e60_38
더 프리뷰 ( The Preview) - 2019/08/19
http://www.thepreview.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=2222
시사 뉴스 저널 (News Journal) - 2019/08/19
http://www.sisanewsjournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=517
경인 일보 (Kyung in News) - 2017/12/13