SUNG JAE LEE (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 Sungjae Lee, arduous and repetitive artistic labor is not only a means of coping with anxiety and compulsion but also a vital method for rendering the infinitesimal components of a whole. His work magnifies objects that are minute, delicate, and unpredictable, while his meticulous attention to detail reveals tensions between parts and totalities across video, installation, and drawing. Simplicity gives rise to complexity, fragility constructs stability, and emptiness takes form. Through these processes, Lee’s creations move imperceptibly, transform continuously, or gradually vanish—as if they never existed.
Sungjae Lee holds a BFA in Cartoons and Animation from Kongju National University in South Korea and an MFA in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of the Arts. His 10-channel video Avyakrta: The Unanswered Questions—selected for Hyundai Motor’s 1st VH AWARD in collaboration with Ars Electronica—was exhibited at both Vision Hall at Hyundai Motorstudio (home to Asia’s largest media display) and the 8K Deep Space at Ars Electronica in Austria.
During his residency at the Studios at MASS MoCA, Lee developed Floating Drawing: Spherical Sphere, a nylon thread installation animated by subtle motion, which was later exhibited at 825 Gallery in Los Angeles. His works have been showcased and recognized at numerous prestigious venues and events, including REDCAT, the Cheongju Craft Biennale, the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles, the Currents New Media Festival, the Southern Utah Museum of Art, the LA Art Show, the Asia Digital Art Exhibition in Beijing, and the Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency.
Solo Exhibition
2025 「Dried Sweat」 Gallery Jeon Daegu, Korea
2024 「Cross the World」 Bukchon Cultural Center Seoul, Korea
2022 「Into Drawing: Grandma, 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
2024 「2024 1st Youth Biennale」 Mulberryhills Seoul, Korea
「ZOOM-IN Edition 5 in Galleries Art Fair」 Coex Seoul, Korea
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
2024 「ZOOM-IN Edition 5: Galleries Art Fair」 Grand Prize
2022 「SOMA Drawing Center: 15th archved artist」 SOMA solo exhibition opportunity
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/ Grand Prize
2015 「VH AWARD」 Finalist
Residency
2026 「13th Youngeun Creative Studio」 Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
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