A benign world of possibilites
So Youn Lee begins from ontological uncertainty to explore the relationship between the invariability of "self-perception" and the hybrid, multi-layered, and fluid identity of the post-internet era. The artist simultaneously captures both a yearning for a world where all beings are respected without suffering and an awareness of the limitations of such ideals, expressing the fragmented existential state of contemporary individuals.
Within the fundamental contradictions present in her work—the conflicts of life and identity, loneliness within community, and fear beyond hope—Lee's art opens spaces of ontological resistance and possibility through imagination and creative acts.
Born in Korea in 1984, Lee's experiences through the IMF financial crisis, rapid digitalization, and life as an immigrant have led her to question the conditions of human coexistence beyond cultural and social contexts. Growing up during radical economic, social, and cultural changes, her generational experience of emotionally connecting and identifying with characters from popular culture such as games, comics, and animation formed an important foundation for her visual language. These influences extend beyond simple nostalgia, expanding into philosophical questions of the post-internet era regarding communication between human and non-human entities and fundamental questions about the boundaries between reality and virtuality.
Her distinctive approach to capturing the unique melancholy of the post-internet era—nostalgia for places never physically visited and longing for times never directly experienced—is a unique characteristic of her work. The protagonists appearing in her works acquire new meaning through the lens of Carl Gustav Jung's collective unconscious and archetypes. These beings, manifested as fruits, mushrooms, and ghost-like figures, represent fluid self-identity and can be seen as contemporary reinterpretations of Jung's "Divine Child," "Trickster," and "Self" archetypes. The way these archetypes overlap and recombine in her work serves as a tool to visualize the fragmented and reconstructed identities of modern humans in the post-internet era. The large eyes of these protagonists connect to Lacanian gaze theory, playing a crucial role in completing the structure of So Youn Lee's works.
The distinctive tension perceived in this gaze suggests traces of the "Real"—traces of that which exists beyond the process of symbolization, which cannot be fully captured through language and symbols. This gaze symbolizes the invariability of "self-perception" while revealing the fundamental contradiction of human existence, which can only recognize itself through the gaze of others. Through this gaze, viewers are transformed from passive observers into active participants interacting with the artwork.
The dreamlike pastel tones and soft forms visually implement the conceptual content of the work. The subtle imbalances and tensions embedded within the seemingly harmonious and peaceful color compositions suggest fundamental disconnections between reality and virtuality, ideals and actuality.
So Youn Lee lives and works in Los Angeles. She holds a BFA from Art Center College of Design, 2012. The artist works across various media including painting and ceramics, and continues to be active by showcasing exhibitions in cities around the world such as New York, Los Angeles, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Manila, London, and Paris.
이소연은 존재론적 불확실성에서 출발해 '나라는 인식'의 불변성과 포스트 인터넷 시대의 혼종적이고 다층적이며 유동적인 자아정체감을 탐구한다.
작가는 모든 존재가 고통받지 않고 존중받는 세계에 대한 동경과 그 한계에 대한 자각을 동시에 담아냄으로써, 현대인의 분열된 존재 상태를 표현한다. 작품 속의 삶과 정체성의 갈등, 공동체속에서의 외로움, 희망 넘어의 두려움과 같은 근본적 모순 속에서도 Lee의 작품은 상상력과 창조적 행위를 통한 존재론적 저항과 가능성의 공간을 열어낸다.
1984년 한국에서 태어나 IMF 외환위기와 급속한 디지털화, 이민자로서의 경험은 작가로 하여금 문화적 사회적 맥락을 뛰어넘어 공존하는 인간의 조건에 대해 질문하게 만들었다. 급진적 경제, 사회, 문화적 변화를 경험하면서 게임, 만화, 애니메이션과 같은 대중문화 캐릭터에 정서적으로 연결되고 동일시하며 성장한 세대적 경험은 그의 시각적 언어 형성에 중요한 토대가 되었다. 이러한 영향은 단순한 노스탤지어를 넘어, 포스트 인터넷 시대의 철학적 질문으로 확장되어 인간과 비인간의 소통, 현실과 가상 사이의 경계에 대한 근본적 질문으로 발전한다. 특히 포스트 인터넷 시대의 독특한 멜랑콜리—실제로 가본 적 없는 장소에 대한 향수, 직접 체험하지 않은 시간에 대한 그리움—를 포착하는 방식은 그의 작업만의 독특한 특성이다.
작품에 등장하는 주인공들은 칼 구스타프 융의 집단무의식과 원형 이론의 렌즈를 통해 새로운 의미를 획득한다. 과일, 버섯, 유령 형태로 구현된 이 존재들은 유동적인 자아 정체감의 표현이며 융이 제시한 '신성한 아이(Divine Child)', '트릭스터(Trickster)', '자아(Self)' 원형의 현대적 재해석으로 볼 수 있다. 이러한 원형들이 작품 속에서 중첩되고 재결합되는 방식은, 포스트 인터넷 시대에 분열되고 재구성되는 현대인의 정체성을 시각화하는 도구로 쓰인다. 주인공들의 큰 눈동자는 라캉의 응시 이론과 연결되어, 소윤 리의 작품의 구조를 완성하는데 핵심적인 역할을 한다. 이 응시 속에서 감지되는 특유의 긴장감은 '실재계'의 흔적을 암시한다—언어와 상징으로 완전히 포착될 수 없는, 상징화 과정의 너머에 존재하는 것의 흔적이다. 이 응시는 "나라는 인식"의 불변성을 상징하면서도, 타인의 시선을 통해서만 자신을 인식할 수 있는 인간 존재의 근본적 모순을 드러낸다. 관객은 이 응시를 통해 단순한 관찰자에서 작품과 상호작용하는 적극적 참여자로 변환된다.
파스텔 톤의 몽환적 색채와 부드러운 형태감은 작품의 개념적 내용을 시각적으로 구현한다. 표면적으로는 조화롭고 평온해 보이는 색채 구성 속에 내재된 미묘한 불균형과 긴장감은 실재와 가상, 이상과 현실 사이의 근본적 괴리를 암시한다.
로스엔젤레스에 거주하며 2012년 아트 센터 칼리지 오브 디자인에서 미술학사 학위를 취득한 작가는 회화, 세라믹 등 다양한 매체를 넘나들며 뉴욕, 로스앤젤레스, 서울, 도쿄, 홍콩, 마닐라, 런던, 파리 등 세계 각지에서 전시를 선보이며 활발한 활동을 이어가고 있다.
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibition
2024 Jun Anormaly, Hashimoto Contemporary, Los Angeles, USA
2024 Feb Lonely Hearts, Ojiri Gallery, London, UK
2023 Aug Solace, Gallery Stan, Seoul, Korea
April In Limbo, Gallery Ascend, Hong Kong
2022 May Over the Moon, Hashimoto Contemporary, New York, USA
2021 Oct Origin, Gallery Stan, Seoul, Korea
2019 Sep Parallel World, Gallery Stan, Seoul, S Korea
2018 Aug Spectruma, Arsham Fieg Gallery, New York, USA
2017 Sep Aurora Punch, Gallery Stan, Seoul, Korea
Jan Limpid, Thinkspace Gallery, Culver City, USA
2016 Nov Hello, New World!, Secret Fresh Gallery, Manila, Philippines
Selected group Exhibition
2024 July Companions, Gana Art, Los Angeles, USA
2024 May Taipei Dangdai, Gana Art, Taipei, Taiwan
2023 Dec Standing Still, Gana Art, Los Angeles, USA
2023 Sep Kiaf +, Gallery Stan, Seoul, Korea
2023 Jul CAN Artfair Ibiza, Ibiza, Spain
2023 May Art Busan, Busan, Korea
2022 Sep Group exhibition, Powerlong Museum, Shanghai, China
2022 Sep Kiaf +, Seoul, Korea
2022 May Art Busan, Busan, Korea
2022 Jan Korean Group Show, Gallery Joynana, France
2021 Dec Satelite City, Gallery Ascend, Hong Kong
2021 May Who’s Next?, The Warehouse Gallery, Hong Kong
2021 May Art Busan, Busan, Korea
2020 Oct Art Busan, Gallery Stan, Busan, S. Korea
Oct Urban Break, Gallery Stan, Seoul, S Korea
Nov Christie’s Auction, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Jun group show, Hashimoto Contemporary, NYC
July House of the Rising Light, Dorothy Circus, London and Rome
2019 Mar Art Central Hong Kong, Over the Influence Gallery, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Apr Supersonic Invitational, Spoke Art, San Francisco, CA
May Art Busan, Gallery Stan, Busan, Korea
Jun Moleskine Project, Spoke Art, San Francisco, CA
Sep KIAF, Gallery Stan, Seoul, Korea
Sep KIAF, Over the Influence, Seoul, Korea
Nov The Paintguide Show, Thinkspace Gallery, Culver City, CA
Nov Universe #2 Group Show, the Garage Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherland
2018 Jan 7th Annual Supersonic Invitational, Spoke Art, New York, NY
Mar Art Fair Tokyo, Lucie Chang Fine Art, Tokyo, Japan
Mar Art Central, Lucie Chang Fine Art, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Jun LAX/PDX Part II, Antler Gallery, Portland, OR
Jul Suggestivism, Spoke Art, New York, NY
Nov Complex Con, Gallery Stan, Long Beach, CA
2017 Jan 6th Annual Supersonic Invitational, NYC, NY
Jun Art Busan, Gallery Stan, Busan, Korea
Jun Sweet n Low: International Show of Cute, Bedford Gallery, Bedford, CA
Jun DTA Dunny x Manila, Secret Fresh Gallery, Manila, Philippines
2016 Jan 5th Annual Supersonic Invitational, Spoke/Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
Apr Moleskine Project V, Spoke Art, San Francisco, CA
May Colors 4 Person Show, FIFTY FIFTY, Seoul, Korea
Aug No-Commission Bronx, The Dean Collection, Bronx, NY
Sep Suggestivism, Spoke Art, San Francisco, CA
2015 Jan Thinkspace 10th-anniversary show, Thinkspace Gallery, Culver city, CA
Jan DTA Dunny Exhibition, Clutter Gallery, Beacon, NY
Feb Pow! Wow! Hawaii, Thinkspace Gallery, Hawaii
Feb Pastel Quest, Screaming Sky Gallery, Portland, OR
Mar Dreamland, Corey Helford Gallery, Culver City, CA
Apr Moleskine Project IV, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
May Cuba Stake Board, Art Whino Gallery, Oxen Hills, MD
Jun EDC Live Painting, Just Kids Official, Las Vegas, NV
Jun Dream Talk 4 Person Show, La Luz De Jesus, Los Angeles, CA
Jul Art Collector Starter Kit, Corey Helford Gallery, Culver City, CA
Sep LAX / LHR, Stolen Space Gallery, London, UK
Dec No Commission Art Fair, The Dean Collection, Miami, FL
Dec Scope Miami Basel, Thinkspace Gallery, Miami, FL
2014 Mar Convergence, Copro Gallery, Culver City, CA
Apr LAX/TXL, Thinkspace Gallery, Schoenberg, Berlin
Aug Art Collector Starter Kit, Corey Helford Gallery, Culver City, CA
Sep Giant Among Us, Corey Helford Gallery, Culver City, CA
2013 Feb Animal Kingdom, Gallery Nucleus, Alhambra, CA
Mar Not in Kansas Anymore, Gallery Nucleus, Alhambra, CA
Dec Moleskin Show III, Spoke Art, San Francisco, CA
Dec Out of Shire, Gallery Nucleus, Alhambra, CA
2012 Aug Veneris 13, Skotia Gallery, Culver City, CA
Mar Look at This Look at That!, Gallery Nucleus, Alhambra, CA
Aug Veneris 13, Skotia Gallery, Culver City, CA
Dec Moleskin Project II, Spoke Art, San Francisco, CA