Yoon Jung Lee
Reflection/Resilience
Yoonjung Lee, a sculptural painter based in New York, weaves captivating narratives through her artwork, exploring the depths of mental health. With a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and an MFA in Multidisciplinary Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Lee has been featured in 11 solo and 32 group exhibitions and fairs across the US, Asia, and Europe, in galleries such as Ilho and Cyart in Seoul, the Rosenberg and American Visionary Museum in Maryland, and Red Gate Gallery in Beijing's 798 art district. She has attended various artist residencies around Europe and Asia, including NES Artist Residency in Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, China, and Thailand. Lee's current painting technique involves layering acrylic paint to create scenes reminiscent of realistic fairy tales, using her hands to form basic shapes and a palette knife, brush, or nearby sharp tools for fine details and writing. This process blends happy coincidences with intentional movements of meditation and writing, resulting in subtle, cryptic text that feels like overheard private conversations. Her impasto sculptural portraits utilize multiple faces, hands, and perceptions to whisper hidden narratives, evoking emotions and delving into the karmic duality—the yin and yang—of every choice.
Yoon Jung Lee Reflection/Resilience
"Reflection / Resilience" delves into the intricate dance between self-reflection and resilience amidst the oscillations of life. This vibrant exhibition beckons viewers on a contemplative voyage, uncovering their intrinsic strength and adaptability. Each artwork serves as a reflective mirror, capturing the nuanced emotions and experiences that sculpt resilience. Yoonjung Lee's sculptural paintings transform into poignant narratives that examine mental health through a lens of optimism, portraying multiple faces within a single portrait to reveal diverse perspectives and hidden layers of emotion.
At the heart of this exhibition lies the theme of self-protection and boundaries. Lee explores how the boundaries we erect in the name of self-protection can often confine us, preventing deep reflection and genuine growth. These boundaries, born from memories and experiences, can obscure the truth, creating barriers that hinder our emotional freedom. Her work invites viewers to recognize and transcend these self-imposed limits, fostering personal growth and liberation. Complementing this central theme, Lee’s paintings also touch upon memory and reflection, encouraging viewers to free themselves from past shackles; the importance of life, highlighting the need to focus on what truly matters; emotional release, providing a cathartic experience through the expression of pent-up feelings; and growth and transformation, celebrating the continuous journey of personal evolution.
Lee's current painting technique involves the meticulous layering of acrylic paint to conjure scenes reminiscent of enchanting, surreal fairy tales. She molds the initial forms with her hands, while palette knives, brushes, and sharp tools etch intricate details and cryptic writings. These inscriptions, subtle and enigmatic, evoke the essence of private conversations, partially obscured from full comprehension. Her impasto sculptural portraits, through their multiplicity of faces, hands, and perceptions, whisper narratives that stir emotions and explore the dual nature of each decision, highlighting both struggles and triumphs. Through this exhibition, Lee aspires for viewers to pause and reflect, discovering their reservoirs of strength and resilience as they journey through life. The paintings within this exhibition articulate the existential dilemmas and unspoken sorrows of Lee's 30s. In striving to alleviate her inner burdens and focus on the essence of life, she often finds herself distracted by myriad significant and trivial events. The boundaries she erected from memories, masquerading as protection, impede deep reflection. These boundaries, woven from the threads of blurred recollections, obscure the truth of past events, yet she finds herself entangled in them. These works encapsulate the dialogues she wishes to have with herself and others, aiming to release the unresolved emotions that hold her captive.
