Today we’d like to introduce you to Yoon Jung Lee.
Hi Yoon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
At 14, I knew I wanted to become an artist. I was unsure what kind of artist I would be, but I wanted to work in the art field. During the early 2000s, Korea focused more on precise and realistic skills to create work than express creativity. To pursue my creativity and passion, I’ve convinced my parent to support me in studying abroad in the US, where I believe I could be independent with my opinions. Since 2006, I’ve dreamed of living as an artist until my death and creating an artist residency or an art space where everyone can gather together to support each other without greediness. If I could choose my future, I would wish I could be remembered as a person who truly loved and supported Art and artist to be shown to the world.
My most influential artist, Kim Jeom Son, is an artist who started my dream of being an artist and a person who taught me not to be greedy with Art. Looking at her work, I feel naiveness, purity, and an open heart that makes people feel nostalgic with warmth. Like her, I am following her path of being a kind, influential artist who presents pure and nostalgic memories is true. Even being Evil Yoon, I pursued kindness and the need to spread happiness to influence the world to view with a kind heart or positive perspective.
Recently, I’ve been working with freeform sculpture painting to express reality and the ideal world, showing different perceptions of positive and negative and their impact on our daily choices.
Another happy news I want to add is that with the incredible support and help of Landlord Sam, curator Yu Yeon Kim and fellow artist Yun Jung Rhee, I am organizing Cellar Artist Residency in brooklyn, NY to let artist immerse themselves with real art scene and to help them focus themselves in Arts and in collaborative freedom.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think it has been a pretty smooth road. I think I had a way to make obstacles to making better choices. When I did not have space to paint, I went to artist residencies and painted. When COVID-19 happened, my MFA start date was postponed, and I opened a pop-up gallery for one year where I opened shows for artists to give group and solo exhibitions. If I am very honest, the biggest challenge I’m facing is surviving reality as an adult, supporting myself, and continuing to be a good influence on the world in my own way.
Once, my nickname was Buzzdozer Yoon because if I knew what I wanted to do, I would always have the luck and energy to pursue what I wished.
Not all my paintings are filled with brightness. Sometimes, my work feels very dark at first glance, but with a closer look, small aspects are hidden inside the painting to ease tension. Like my painting, my life has had many ups and downs, but there was always good energy or a gift from the world to cheer me up, and somehow, I know everything I wish would truly happen in reality. I believe if we live and share kindness rather than greediness, it might take a longer time, but we will create a stable community with similar people with vision.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Hi everyone! I’m Yoonjung Lee, a sculptural abstract painter based in New York and Seoul, focused on sculpting paintings to question the dance between positivity and negativity in our daily choices. In my creative process, I carefully sculpt and layer acrylics, weaving stories with a harmonious dance between serendipity and meticulous planning. This thick textural painting started with abstract portraits, which became a broader perspective with the series; I infused the intricacy of acrylics with subtle, cryptic writings containing a few readable words to invite viewers to delve into introspection and question their perspectives.
My first thick textural series was for releasing emotions and fear into dense layers of paint and sprinkling salt and sprinkles to give the painting shine and infinite life. My second textural portrait series led me to evolve into a broader perspective to create a narrative to seduce the viewers. I infuse the complexity of acrylics with subtle, cryptic writings that contain a few readable words, inviting viewers to introspect and question their perspectives.
My creative process is a distinctive blend of uncertainty and intentional movements, incorporating primary colors of paints and movement and carving writing of moral lessons I learned or wish to express in each piece. My paintings interplay 2d and 3d, building up paint on each other, seducing viewers to interplay between ideal and reality. I usually use acrylic, mirror, chain, and sprinkle powder or salt to add life to the painting. I especially like using mirrors because viewers can be seen through the painting and express confusion about reality and ideals.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I love using Airbnb as accommodation when I don’t want to sleep in a tight, small hotel room but want to feel cozy at a reasonable price. I’ve been using it for over eight years, and Airbnb is my top 3 travel app for accommodation. The other two are booking.com and Skyscanner.
I once traveled only with the cheapest flight and my travel to 6 countries in Europe for one month cost less than 100 euros.
I am also a mania of using timers, voice memos, and alarms. I set up multiple alarms to eliminate my laziness, so it is one of the apps I use the most on my phone. I also often use the voice memos app to record my ideas or influential talks around daily life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yoonjunglee.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artnion/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoonjung-lee-ab110092?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Image Credits
Randi Rosenblum
