Minjung Lee

BIO

Minjung Lee is a South Korean artist, lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Lee received her MFA in Sculpture from Slade School of Fine Art in London winning Julia Wood Prize, and her BFA in Sculpture from Seoul National University in Seoul. She recently had a solo show at The Cluster Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, and her work was selected as one of the top 10 in Gowanus Open Studios by Paddy Johnson. Her works have been included in many group shows in the US, London and South Korea.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work attempts to measure the distance between the physical world and mind, employing realistically drawn surface of various objects as sculptural medium.

Interview with Minjung Lee

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in becoming an artist? Who or what were some of your most important early influences?

I was born and raised in South Korea, which has a reputation for extreme competitions in school life, beginning at the elementary level through college admission. Being in an art specialized middle and high school, my childhood was not an exception. But I just loved drawing and painting so much that even practicing them 4-8hours every day at school was more of an absorbing activity for me. Growing up, surrounded by peers who were little artists, a meaningful thought about becoming an artist for me was closer to whether to remain in the dream or to leave, as most of the friends started to take different paths after college. Through the test of time, I persuaded myself that I just couldn’t live without the excitement and rewarding moments that making art gives me.

Where are you currently based and what initially attracted you to working in this place? Are there any aspects of this specific location or community that have inspired aspects of your work?

I’m based in Brooklyn. I came to New York in quest of a lively atmosphere of wider and diverse art scene where artists from all over the world gather. Compared to my previous body of work, I think I’m using more colors now which may have come from the ambience of the city.

Can you describe your studio space? What are some of the most crucial aspects of a studio that make it functional? Do any of these specific aspects directly affect your work?

My studio meets basic needs- very quiet, just enough space to walk around a work to see at a distance, and clean walls for documentation. Ideally, I wish there were a communal wood shop in our studio building which would have brought about more experiments and efficiency. I struggle not to be hesitant about using machines I already have, but it is quite limited as I have to go outdoors and find a space to use sander for instance.

What is a typical day like? If you don't have a typical day, what is an ideal day?

My typical day has changed according to the growth of my child and obviously through the pandemic, but since last September, when my first grader went back to in-person classroom, my daily routine has settled down a bit. I try to wake up early in the morning to secure a bit of quiet time before all the rush starts. I pack lunch for everyone, and while my husband drops our boy off at school, I head to my studio and work until I go to pick him up in the early afternoon. The rest of the day, mostly I have to take care of my son, run errands, and do housework.

What gets you in a creative mindset?

As a Christian, I pray to God throughout production of each piece, admitting the limit of my own creative ability and ask for guidance and inspirations on the journey. I don’t plot out the complete picture in the beginning. I develop the initial idea as I go, allowing room for external interruptions and unexpected consequences. While the work is still in progress, I avoid using words to process ideas. Words come afterwards only to untangle and read what is done in the work.

What criteria do you follow for selecting materials? How long have you worked with this particular media or method?

I began working with colored pencil as a primary medium in 2019. I used to use raw building materials, and experiment with photographic chemicals and sound, often being inclined to site-specific work. These works required fairly large space for construction and installation, because space was a part of medium. I inevitably had to depend on proposals before realizing an idea which felt so overwhelming since developing ideas in the process of making was important to me. And the works ended up only in digital documentations after all, finding no way to store them physically. Feeling frustrated with these practical barriers, I have been drawn to more sophisticated and hand craft involved works that don’t prioritize idea but posses meaning in execution itself as well.

Can you walk us through your overall process? How long has this approach been a part of your practice?

My general process starts with simply being allured to a surface texture or graphic pattern that is part of a place or object. I briefly copy the pattern with a piece of carbon paper preserving the actual size of the pattern onto paper board. Then carefully draw and lay down layers of colors, constantly referring to the original source. I consider this drawn surface sculptural material to become part of a whole, not knowing quite yet how it is going to be worked. While making this “represented surface”, I slowly get to search and figure out what other element should conjoin. It is a constant adjustment with lots of decision making until it feels right. I began exploring flatness of surface early on from BFA graduation show except that I used actual materials back then.

Can you talk about some of the ongoing interests, imagery, and concepts that have informed your process and body of work over time? How do you anticipate your work progressing in the future?

I’ve always been captivated by theatrical settings- stage, light, and props. Especially when a stage has been set up with no performers occupying it yet. Also, the atmosphere of intermission between performances in the theater intrigues me. I’m fascinated to see the break and disconnection between the fictional space/time and the real world. It has been persistently with me, and I believe, with my work as well. I’m not able to foresee how my work will progress, but hopefully it will reveal what I’ve been searching for more clearly in the future.

Do you pursue any collaborations, projects, or careers in addition to your studio practice? If so, can you tell us more about those projects, and are there connections between your studio practice and these endeavors?

I have been doing custom portrait drawing for babies and little kids alongside private art lessons for a while, but I have decided to focus solely on studio practice as I find myself almost drowned juggling many different things.

As a result of the pandemic, many artists have experienced limited access to their studios or loss of exhibitions, income, or other opportunities. Has your way of working (or not working) shifted significantly during this time? Are there unexpected insights or particular challenges you’ve experienced?

Prior to pandemic, my art practice had already been put on hold for many years after having a baby and was resumed in 2019, when my son started going to preschool. The Pandemic struck New York six months after I began working at the corner of our apartment. I was sort of in the new beginning stage as an artist, so I wasn’t really substantially affected by the event. I could somehow still keep working from home, although it was not easy to focus with a 4year old boy around and it caused almost 2 further years of delay getting a studio outside.

Can you share some of your recent influences? Are there specific works—from visual art, literature, film, or music—that are important to you?

Raising my child, I got into the whole new world of children’s picture book. Reading and exploring lots of stories with him, I was attracted to how the illustrators utilize each page to conjure up a continuous space. Unlike animation films that operate with thousands of frames for a few minutes long stories, picture books are only several dozen pages, allowing readers to slow down and traverse across the pages at their pace. Each image is static but feels like a moving image when we are absorbed into the fictional space. It was interesting to see that when different but related pictures are put together, they acquire an element of time between them. I think the world of picture book somehow affected me to begin the new body of work using colored pencil on paper, and I’m still exploring how to apply the aspect of time found in the picture books in my work.

Who are some contemporary artists you’re excited about? What are the best exhibitions you’ve seen in recent memory and why do they stand out?

I admire works of Katie Paterson, David Claerbout, and Paul Rouphail among many others. One of the recent impressive exhibitions was Diane Simpson: Point of View at JTT, New York. When I stumbled upon her works on IG few years ago, I immediately fell in love with her aesthetics and was in shock discovering she was from the same generation as my grandmother. In the show, I noticed one sculpture there was planned 40 years ago, inferred from a drawing exhibited, while it was realized only recently. Her enduring passion and commitment deeply touched me. It was an encouraging moment as a woman artist.

Do you have any tips or advice that someone has shared with you that you have found particularly helpful?

Self-doubt as an artist will keep coming back. Sometimes determination is the most important quality, more than anything else for an artist.

What are you working on in the studio right now? What’s coming up next for you?

At the moment, I’m drawing a mirror that is reflecting my other existing work. I’m imagining it would be interesting to show both pieces together in one space. My work is moving towards bearing more layers of space within a work, or between works, being mindful of the viewer’s bodily presence.

Anything else you would like to share?

Thank you for this opportunity to share my work and thoughts!

To find out more about Minjung Lee, check out her website.