LEE Jihyun

LEE Jihyun (b. 1979) embarks on a journey of stacking up gathered experiences and memories on to the canvas. The artist creates imaginary landscapes; merging public places that she has visited in the past with very personal spaces. Famous tourist attractions are interconnected with spaces that represent personal life, such as the inside of a closet or the top of a desk, to form another dimension of time and space. By exploring the various elements of painting as a medium—such as composition, color, negative space, perspective, and reproduction—LEE uncovers the nuances of tangibility in her work, which are marked by brushstrokes and traces of paint.

LEE Jihyun was born in 1979, Seoul, Korea. She received her BFA and MFA from Sungshin Women's University in Seoul, and earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. The artist has held solo exhibitions at ARARIO GALLERY SEOUL (Seoul, Korea, 2026; 2022; 2008), ECOCA (Ely Center of Contemporary Art)(New Haven, CT, US, 2025), Doosan Gallery Seoul (Seoul, Korea, 2013), Doosan Gallery New York (New York, NY, US, 2012), Gallery Sun Contemporary (Seoul, Korea, 2006), ARARIO GALLERY BEIJING (Beijing, China, 2006). Her work also been featured in group exhibitions held at Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (Ridgefield, CT, US, 2026), NXTHVN (New Haven, CT, US, 2024), ARARIO GALLERY SEOUL (Seoul, Korea, 2024; 2021; 2011), ARARIO GALLERY CHEONAN (Cheonan, Korea, 2020; 2010; 2006), DOOSAN Gallery (Seoul, Korea, 2009), Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea, 2006; 2005), among others. Since participating in her first group exhibition in 2000, she has exhibited internationally in the United States, Switzerland, Japan, and elsewhere. Her works are included in the collections of the Government Art Bank and Art Bank of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the ARARIO Collection. She currently lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut, US.