The full moon is a frequent motif in Lee’s work, often lighting up her forests after a dusting of snow—emphasizing her signature, minimalist shapes. As seen in the artist’s hand-embellished ART FOR CHANGE edition, Moon and a Star, 2021, the moon peeks through behind a long, thin tree trunk bathing the forest in a luminescent white light, and bringing a sparkle to the gold star ornament. Her use of contrast brings a brightness and sense of hope to these evocative images, placing the viewer in wonder and merriment to fill in her narrative scenes.
Inspired by the fairytales and fantasies from her South Korean childhood, Lee evokes these same feelings of wonder and mystery through nocturnal scenes, where lack of light can illuminate more surprising details. The crisp air, nipping breeze and meditative stillness is palpable in compositions like the artist’s most recent ART FOR CHANGE edition The Black Tulip, 2022, where new details like the namesake tulip unveil themselves in the shadows of the bare trees in both signed and numbered and hand-embellished examples.
Lee’s emotional atmospheres bring out a childlike sense of wonder through color and light. Inquire with hello@artforchange.com regarding availability.