Lee Jiyen

born 1979 in Korea

lives and works in Seoul

Lee Jiyen's work unfolds at the intersection of science, philosophical reflection, and sensory perception. Through her large-scale installations and photographic collages, she investigates the processes by which patterns emerge from the smallest fragments, transforming familiar landscapes and objects into organic, spatially engaged forms. Nature serves as a central point of reference: Lee draws on natural processes as both model and starting point for her explorative inquiries. Her works make the structures of growth, decay, and interconnection visible and tangible, as the most minute elements converge into spatial compositions. In doing so, they open new perspectives on our environment and invite reflection on the relationship between microscopic detail and large-scale phenomena.

Lee's practice is shaped by an experimental engagement with materials, light, and technology. She renders the invisible experiential and probes structures that exist beyond the boundaries of ordinary reality. Her works respond to light, space, and the act of observation — forms and colors shifting fluidly as conditions change. In this way, Lee connects scientific concepts, such as the observer effect in quantum mechanics, with philosophical inquiries into the interdependence of all things.

This thinking also informs her understanding of sculpture: rather than something heavy and fixed, Lee conceives of it as continuously evolving. Through the interplay of technical processes, temporal duration, and optical effect, her work is at once ephemeral, poetic, and precise — questioning the boundary between tangible and immaterial reality.

Lee Jiyen studied Fine Arts at the Goldsmith University in London and Sculpture at the Hongik University in Seoul. She received several awards, among them the Seokju Selection Prize of the Seokju Cultural Foundation, Korea (2024) and the Sovereign Asian Art prize of the Sovereign Art Foundation Hong Kong (2014-2015).

Solo exhibitions (selection): Art Sonje Center, 1F Project Space, Seoul (2022); Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Project Gallery, Ansan (2018); Interaction Seoul, Seoul (2017); MakeShop Art Space, Paju (2015); Space K, Daegu (2013); and salon de H, Seoul (2011).

Group exhibitions (selection): Noor Riyadh Light Art Festival, JAX District, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2024); Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul (2023); Artience Daejeon, artist’ house, Daejeon Culture and Arts Foundation, Daejeon, (2021); Gyeonggi Creative Center, Ansan (2018); Le Tripostal Museum (Lille (2015); Espace Louis Vuitton, Hong Kong (2012); and SOKA Art Center, Beijing (2010).