LEE, SUNG JAE (b.1985)
Born in Seoul
Works and lives in Seoul and Los Angeles
Education
MFA California Institute of the Arts, USA
BFA Kong-ju National University, Korea
BIO
For Sung Jae Lee, arduous and repetitive artistic labor is both the gateway to the relief of anxiety and compulsion and a necessity to portray the infinitesimal parts of whole objects. Objects that are minute, delicate, and unpredictable are expanded in his works, and his meticulous details draw oppositions between parts and entireties in his videos, installations, and drawings. Complexities build up simplicities, fragilities compose stabilities, and nothingness becomes something. Through such works and processes, Sungjae Lee’s creations move very subtly, continuously transform, and/or gradually disappear as if they never existed. Sungjae Lee earned his BFA at Kong-Ju National University in South Korea studying cartoons and animations, and MFA at California Institute of the Arts in Experimental Animation program. By participating in Hyundai Motors’ 1st VH AWARD, affiliated with Ars Electronica, his 10-channel video Avyakrta: The Unanswered Questions was exhibited in both Vision Hall at Hyundai Motors University where is equipped with the largest media displayer in Asia, and in 8K Deep Space at Ars Electronica. Also, during the Studios at MASS MoCA residency, he developed his nylon thread installation that is engaged with a subtle motion, titled Floating Drawing: Spherical Sphere, and exhibited it at 825 gallery in Los Angeles. Lee's works have been showcased and awarded at prestigious galleries, museums, and events; his installations and videos were exhibited at Red Cat, Cheongju Craft Biennale, Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles, Currents New Media Festival, Southern Utah Museum of Art, LA Art Show, Asia Digital Art Exhibition in Beijing, and Joshua Tree Highland Artist Residency.
Solo Exhibition
2022 「Into Drawing: Grandma is dad’s mom」 Seoul Olympic Museum of Art Seoul, Korea
2019 「Her Real Secret: Onement」 Joshua Tree Highland Artist Residency Joshua Tree, USA
2018 「Partial Entirety」 Gallery 825 Los Angeles, USA
2015 「This Uncertain Conversation」 California Institute of the Arts Valencia, USA
Selected Group Exhibition
2023 「Into Drawing Plus」 Seoul Olympic Museum of Art Seoul, Korea
2022 「Incarnated Ghosts」 Lee & Lee Gallery Los Angeles, USA
2021 「The 1st Suzhou Craft Biennale & The 13th China Embroidery Art Festival」 Mashan Tourist Center Suzhou, China
「Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency: 15th-year anniversary exhibition」 San Bernardino County Museum San Bernardino , CA, USA
2020 「Defining Beauty」 California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, CA, USA
2019 「Asia Digital Art Exhibition: Symbiosis」 No.6 Chuangye Road, Haidian District Beijing, China
「NYLON ThinkVision Art Exhibition」 Ullens Center for Contemporary Art Beijing, China
「LA ART SHOW: DIVERSartLA」 Los Angeles Convention Center Los Angeles, CA, USA
2018 「Encounter Korea」 Southern Utah Museum of Art Cedar City, UT, USA
「Vibrant Matter + Maiden L.A.」 Beacon Arts Building Inglewood, CA, USA
「Currents New Media 2018」 El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe Santa Fe, NM, USA
「CIRCUMSTANCES: 24th Annual Juried Art Exhibition」 Korea Cultural Center in Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA, USA
「Infinite Undoing」 Galleri 2987 Detroit, MI, USA
2017 「Cheongju Craft Biennale: Hands+ embrace」 The Old Cheongju Tobacco Processing Plant Cheongju, Korea
2016 「RADICAL ATOMS」 Deep space 8k Ars electronica in Linz, Austria
「VH AWARD」 Vision Hall Yong-in, Korea
2015 「FFE2015」 Pearl Conrad Art Gallery Mansfield, OH, USA
「Tech+ Art」 Ann Arbor Art Center Ann Arbor, MI, USA
2014 「Showcase 2014」 RedCat Los Angeles, CA, USA
Selected Awards
2021 「The 1st Suzhou Craft Biennale」 ZHENHU Award
2020 「Defining Beauty: Juried International Art Exhibition at California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks」 Contributing Artist Award
2018 「Lumen Prize」 Moving Image Award
「CIRCUMSTANCES: the 24th Contemporary Art Competition at Korean Cultural Center LA」 Best of Show
2015 「VH AWARD」 Finalist
Residency
2019 「Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency」 Joshua Tree, California, USA
2018 「Vermont Studio Center」 Johnson, Vermont, VT, USA
2017 「Studios at MASS MoCA」 North Adams, Massachusetts, MA, USA
Publication, Essays, and Articles
<With Lines...With the air thread. Memory shaping>, the Korea Times, January, 6th, 2020
<문화계+민화 '독특-흥미' 다양한 기법으로 표현.. 첫 전시회> on SBS Evening News LA, January, 11th, 2020
<Asia Digital Art Exhibition: Symbiosis> on p.76
<Time & Motion> by Carla Rapoport, November 22nd, 2018
<Meet Sungjae Lee> on VoyageLA, October, 24th, 2018
<2018 Lumen Prize Winner Announced>, September 27th, 2018
<2017 제10회 청주공예비엔날레: hands + embrace> on p.36
<ARS ELECTRONICA: Radical Atoms 2016> on p. 327
<VH AWARD: Finalist Review> by Martin Honzik, Head Curator- Organization Festival Ars Electronica
<VH AWARD: Finalist Review> by Hongcheol Choi- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea