LEE Jinju

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Biography

The paintings of LEE Jinju (b. 1980) open up landscapes where memory and the unconscious, truth and fiction, and frozen time coexist. Every object and person that appears in her work contains the artist’s gaze, rejuvenating the memories in the process of encounter. LEE’s work begins with repetitive questions thrown in life. The tangible results of this internal exploration process, which originated from these continuous inquiries, are expressed through sharp and geometric, sometimes seemingly ordinary and minuscule objects that have been carefully dissected from the well-constructed framework of daily life and memory. One step further, the artist’s canvas becomes the intermediate zone where boundaries between life and death, underground and surface, day and night are transcended, and the overlapping layers of dense metaphor unravel and sustain a fragmented and shattered world. In this place, the movements of existence escape the dimensions of time and space, randomly infiltrating the crevices of memory throughout various spaces. To LEE, memory is constantly summoned by sensory stimuli. These sensory stimuli allow us to perceive the unseen dimensions more distinctly and serve as the essence of human instinct and the catalyst for artistic creation, capturing the elusive realm beyond tangible forms.

LEE Jinju studied East Asian painting and she delicately depicts uncanny and strange scenes, objects, and landscapes she encounters in her daily life, applying the coloring techniques of East Asian painting. LEE’s ‘shaped canvas’, which represents time, space and perspective through three-dimensional painting, offers a way to delve into the intricacies of the numerous stories within a grand landscape. On the other hand, her ‘black painting’, which portrays body parts such as hands and faces emerging from the pitch-black darkness, presents fragmented subjects in a more eerie manner, showcasing them dramatically. The details that emerge in LEE Jinju’s work goes beyond simply replicating the subject. They capture the artist’s gaze towards the subject and the attitude cultivated through extensive observation.

LEE Jinju has held solo exhibitions at ARARIO MUSEUM Tapdong Cinema (Jeju, Korea, 2022-2024), ARARIO MUSEUM in SPACE (Seoul, Korea, 2020), Triumph Gallery (Moscow, Russia, 2019), Edwin's Gallery (Jakarta, Indonesia, 2018), and ARARIO GALLERY Seoul (Seoul, Korea, 2017), among others. LEE has also participated in group exhibitions at numerous venues including Marres, House of Contemporary Culture (Maastricht, The Netherlands, 2022), White Cube Seoul (Seoul, Korea, 2023), SONGEUN (Seoul, Korea, 2023 and 2022), Jeju Museum of Art (Jeju, Korea, 2023), Korea Cultural Center (Brussels, Belgium, 2021), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (Seoul, Korea, 2021), Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale (Jeonnam, Korea, 2021), Museum of Moscow (Moscow, Russia, 2021), ARARIO GALLERY Cheonan (Cheonan, Korea, 2021), Gyeongnam Art Museum (Changwon, Korea, 2021), Asia Culture Center (Gwangju, Korea, 2019), Gangwon International Biennale (Gangwon, Korea, 2018), Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea, 2015), Doosan Gallery New York (New York, US, 2013), OCI Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea, 2011), Ilmin Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea, 2010). LEE Jinju received Second Prize of JoongAng Fine Arts Prize in 2009 and Second Prize of SONGEUN Art Award in 2014. LEE's works are in public collections in Korea, in the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Gyeongnam Art Museum, ARARIO MUSEUM, SONGEUN Art and Cultural Foundation, and OCI Museum of Art.

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