www.stephanieslee.com
Stephanie S. Lee studied in Busan Art High School in South Korea and earned a BFA in Graphic Design at Pratt Institute. She studied Korean Folk Art painting in Busan National University and
received MS at Pratt in Museums & Digital Culture with Advanced Certificate in Conservation and
Digital Curation. She is currently working at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum.
As an artist, Lee displayed at Scope Art, Spectrum Miami Art Show, Fountain Art Fair and Affordable Art Fairs. And her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Asia Week and the book ‘Chaekgeori: The Power and Pleasure of Possessions in Korean Painted Screens.’
She is a founder of KoreanFolkArt.org and teaches Korean Folk Art painting to the public. In addition, she’s working as a freelance exhibition designer to curate exhibitions at public venues and museums, including Ridgewood pulic library, Closter library, Islip Art Museum, Queens College Art Center, Belskie Museum of Arts and the Flushing Town Hall.
Statement
“In my work, I reinterpret the traditional Korean Folk Art (Minhwa) from the Joseon Dynasty by connecting it with modern perspective. I depict the never-ending aspirations and desires of human beings with outlays and compositions similar to those used in
traditional Korean folk art.
By portraying a luxurious, modern context in a traditional Korean setting, using Minhwa’s satirical and humorous aspects, I symbolizes the essence of life – the pursuit of happiness – which transcends time and era in my paintings. By integrating Korean tradition with New York’s modern life, tradition and modern, old and new, east and west, material and ideal all coexist harmoniously in my painting.
People in modern days often seem to confuse pursuit of happiness with materialistic desire. But I believe that the substance of life is seeking one’s happiness, thus human being’s life journey is interaction between these essential desires with its environment. While the objects and its appearance may have changed over the course of time, one’s immortal passions—wealth, health, beauty, knowledge, and accumulation of fame—have never withered, and are everlasting.
However, the objects in my paintings are not employed to critique the negative aspects of materialism. Rather, the painting is an interpretation of how the materialistic yearnings of humankind can be a positive element in modern society, if such energies are directed to urge people to do their earnest best to obtain their desires. I hope my paintings let viewers to see through this fundamental human philosophy beyond the materialistic substances.”
Education
2018 Master of Science, Pratt Institute, NY Major: Museums and Digital Culture
Advanced Certificate in Conservation & Digital Curation
2011 Korean Traditional Folk Art Painting, Pusan National University, South Korea
2001 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications Design, Pratt Institute, NY Major: Graphic Design Awards: Excellence Award for Outstanding Merit in Graphic Design – 2001 May
Circle Award for Academic Achievement – 2001 May
Honors: President’s List 2000 & Dean’s List 1997 to 2000
Solo Exhibitions
2019 The Modern Virtue in Pigment & Ink, Closter Public Library, Closter, NJ (forthcoming) 2016 Echoing Roar, Art Mora, Chelsea, NY 2016 Back to Circle, Piermont Public Library, Piermont, NY 2016 Books Vs. Pocket Books, Ridgewood Public Library, Ridgewood, NJ 2016 Roar, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY 2016 Artist of the month – February, Edward Hopper House Art Center, Nyack, NY 2015 Wish, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY
Selected Art Fairs
2017 K-MINAF, 제 1회 민화아트페어, SETEC 서울무역전시장, Seoul, South Korea 2017 Affordable Art Fair, The Metropolitan Pavillon, New York 2016 Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong 2015 Affordable Art Fair, The Metropolitan Pavillon, New York, NY 2015 Scope New York Art Show, New York, NY 2014 Spectrum Miami Art Show, Miami, FL 2014 Affordable Art Fair, The Tunnel, New York, NY 2014 Shenzhen Internaional Art Fair, Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, Shenzhen, China 2014 Fountain Art Fair – 69th Regiment Armory, New York, NY
Group Exhibitions
2019 Threads and Pigments, Flushing Town Hall, Flusing, NY (forthcoming) Art Minhwa Reporter Member’s Exhibition, 한국문화정품관 (Korean Artist & Artisan Gallery), Seoul, South Korea Edward Hopper House Artist Member’s Exhibition, Bell-ans Center of Creative Arts, Orangeburg, NY 2019 Red Envelope Show, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
2018 Insight in Sight, Art League of Long Island, Dix Hills, NY
Korea Society of Exhibition Design Studies, KOSES 국제초대전, 국립중앙박물관 , National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea Art & Soul, Prince Street Gallery, SOHO, NY East Meets West, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY Archipelagos of the Creative Mind, Pratt Institute Library Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Korea Society of Color & Form 한국색채조형학회 국제전, 부산예술회관, Busan Art Center, Busan, South Korea Going Places, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY Five Person Exhibition, 빛맑은 바람 전-박물관 수 별관오픈전, Museum Soo, Daegu, South Korea Multi-Lane II, Demouzy Contemporary Gallery, Rockville Center, New York Five Person Exhibition, 현대민화의 길을 찾다-월간민화 창간 3주년 기념 특별전, 나락실갤러리, Seoul, South Korea Saehwa (세화전 – 안녕, 당신을 위한 새해 인사), Gallery Hanok, Seoul, South Korea
2016 The Power and Pleasure of Possessions in Korean Painted Screens, Skylight Gallery, Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University, NY
The Primacy of Color, George Bills Gallery, Chelsea, NY Aspects: Works by Korean Artists in America, University Gallery – Ivan Wilson Center for Fine Arts, Western Kentucky University, KY
Yeosu International Art Festival, Yeosu Expo Convention Center, South Korea
수원 화성 프로젝트 Suwon City Hwasung Project, 복합문화공간 행궁재 Complex Art Space Haenggungjae, Suwon, South Korea Four person exhibition, Syncretized, Space 776, Brooklyn, NY Three person exhibition, 3 Generations, Palidades Park Public Library, NJ
2015 Yeon Mal Yeon Si (연말연시전), Nabi Museum of the Arts, Teaneck, NJ Call for Chelsea exhibition, (Re) envisioning art’s aura in the age of turbo-capitalism, Galleria Ca’ D’oro, Chelsea, NY Solstice, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Pieromnt, NY KACAL16, Hutchins Gallery, Brookville, NY Six person exhibition, Re-illumination, SIA NY gallery, Chelsea, NY Heart – Center of Life, Weil Cornell Medical College Samuel J. Wood Library, New York, NY Four person exhibition, Replenished, Hutchins Gallery, Brookville, NY Happy Minhwa (행복한 우리민화전), Gallery Min, Pusan, South Korea Who am I? What do you see?, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY Four person exhibition, Common Interests, Nabi Museum of the Arts, Teaneck, NJ Youth Art Award & Invitational Art Exhibition, Jersey City City Hall, NJ
Size Matters – Small but Significant Works, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, NY 20 Artists, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, NY
2014 Inernational Public Collection (新院展), Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Dream and happiness through Minhwa ( 꿈과 행복으로 소통하는 아름다운 우리 그림), Gyeonggi Provincial Museum, Gyeonggi, South Korea Three person exhibition, Emerging Scape, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
2014 Five person exhibition, Nature within Us, Powerhouse Arena, Brooklyn, NY The 36th H.M.A. International Art Festival (H.M.A. 국제 예술제), Gallery Chosun, Seoul, South Korea Shin Chun invitational exhibition (2014 우수작가 신춘기획 초대전), Gallery La Mer, Seoul, South Korea Passion 15, Riverside Gallery, Hackensack, NJ Community Art Project, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
2013 Winter Salon Show, Space 776, Brooklyn, NY Happy Together, Elga Wimmer Gallery, Chelsea, NY Community Art Project, Yegam Art Space, Flushing, NY Six person exhibition, The First Sextet, Riverside Gallery, Hackensack, NJ Korean Traditional Fan Art ( 대한민국 부채예술대전), Gallery La Mer, Seoul, South Korea Happy Minhwa (행복한 우리 민화전), 부산 시민회관, Busan Citizen Hall, Busan, South Korea Arirang, Riverside Gallery, Hackensack, NJ
Curatorial & Design Projects
2019 Group Exhibition, “Threads & Pigments”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY (forthcoming) Minhwa – Korean Folk Paintings in New York, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY (forthcoming)
Yu Han Yu’s Solo Exhibition, “The Majesty of Tibet”, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
2018 Group Exhibition, “Eudaimonia | 에우다이모니아”, Gallery CHUN, Flushing, NY
Group Exhibition, “Diaspora”, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
Sei Ryun Chun’s Solo Exhibition, “Rounded”, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
Group Exhibition, “East Meets West”, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
Group Exhibition, “Parthibition”, Space Ciel Gallery, Pompton Lakes, NJ
2017 Group Exhibition, “Queens: envisioning habitats”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Group Exhibition, “As it is | 있는 그대로”, Gallery CHUN, Flushing, NY
Group Exhibition, “Evolving”, Korean Cultural Center DC, Washington, D.C.
Group Exhibition, “Dynamic Dimensions”, Belskie Museum of Art & Science, Closter, NJ
2016 Four Person Exhibition, “Syncretized”, Space 776, Brooklyn, NY
Three Person Exhibition, “3 Generations”, Palisades Park Public Library, Palisades, NJ
2015 Four Person Exhibition, “Common Interests”, Nabi Museum of the Arts, Teaneck, NJ
Four Person Exhibition, “Replenished”, Hutchins Gallery, Brookville, NY
Master Jai Choon Kim’s Invitational Solo Exhibition, “The Royal Blossom”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Solo Exhibition, “Wish”, Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY
2014 Three Person Exhibition, “Emerging Scapes”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Group Exhibition, “Nature within Us”, Powerhouse Arena, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Group exhibition, “The First Sextet”, Riverside Gallery, NJ
2012 Sueim Koo’s Solo Exhibition, “My Diary in Landscapes”, Riverside Gallery, NJ
Design & Installation Projects
2019 Wonju Seo’s Solo Exhibition, “Tradition Meets Modern Beauty: Wonju Seo’s Contemporary Interpretation of Korean Pojagi”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
2018 Dan Rubin’s Solo Exhibition, “Tribal Baroque: Moments and Metamorphoses”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Visual Artist Member’s Annual Group Exhibition, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Tina Seligman’s Solo Exhibition, “Solar-Lunar Transcriptions”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY “The Costume Art of Imperial Peking Opera”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY 2017 “The Sport of Kings in Queens: Celebrating 350 Years of Thoroughbred Horse Racing”,
The Queens Historical Society, Flushing, NY “Past Performances: Legends of Turfs in Queens”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY Group Exhibition, “Going Places”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY Frank Oscar Larson’s Solo Exhibition, “Taking it to the Streets: 1950’s NYC Through the Lens of Flushing
Photographer”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY Group Exhibition, “JHS 185 Edward Bleeker Student Arts Exhibition”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
2016 Group Exhibition, “World within a World”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY Group Exhibition, “Lucky in Love”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
2015 Group Exhibition, “Who am I? What do you see?”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY Exhibition, “Stable Views: Life in the Backstretch of the Thoroughbred Racetrack”,
Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Two Person Exhibition, “Dynamic Writing: A Century of Calligraphy”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Workshops & Teaching experience
2018 Panel Discussion, “K-Wave: The State of Contemporary Korean Fashion, Art and Music”, Newark Museum, NJ 2018 Public School Workshop, “Rooster Coloring for the Lunar New Year”, P.S. 150, Sunnyside, NY 2016 Group Workshop, “Making my own Book bag with Korean Chaekgeori Painting”,
Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University 2016 Korean Folk Art class teacher, Manhattan Korean School, at The NYC Museum School, NY
2016 Family Workshop, “Make Something for Mom”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY 2015 Public School Workshop, “Korean Tiger & Magpie”, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
Press & Publications
Chung, Byungmo and Kim, Sunglim. “Chaekgeori: The Power and Pleasure of Possessions in Korean Painted Screens”. Dahal Media, SUNY Press, 2017.
Asia Week KOFICE 한국문화사업교류재단 The Wall Street Journal Radio 1660 News, 이슈로 만난 사람들 Blasting News US Art Minhwa Magazine The Record The Suffolk County News
The Korean Times, New York, Arts & Culture Korea Daily Newspaper Examinor.com, Artist Spotlight Mom & I Family Magazine TKC- The Korean Channel, TKC News The World Ilbo, Culture & Art
TKC-The Korean Channel, Day with the culture Jungang Ilbo New Jersey, Culture
Flushing Fantastic Queens Council on the Arts
2018 Distinguished Achievement Certificate ( 공로상), Korean American Contemporary Arts, Ltd., New York
2015 Special Prize, The Traditional Culture Arts Promotion Association, South Korea
Winner, Call for Chelsea 2015, NY 2014 Artist Award for Exceptional Work, The 46th International Public Collection (新院展), Japan
Special Honor Prize, Hyung Sang Fine Art Grand Conetst, South Korea
New Artist Prize, The 36th International H.M.A. Art Festival, South Korea 2013 Three Prize of Selection, The Traditional Culture Arts Promotion Association, South Korea 2012 Special Prize, Contemporary Women Fine Art Association, South Korea
Prize of Selection, The Traditional Culture Arts Promotion Association, South Korea
Affiliations
The Godwin-Ternbach Museum | www.gtmuseum.org Artist member of the Edward Hopper House Museum | www.edwardhopperhouse.org Teaching Artist & Visual Arts Member at the Flushing Town Hall | www.flushingtownhall.org Member of the New York Society of Women Artists | www.newyorksocietyofwomenartists.com Member of the Korean American Contemporary Arts, Ltd. 한미현대예술협회 (총무) | www.kacal.org Founder of Korean Folk Art Organization | www.koreanfolkart.org The Korean Folk Painting Association (Director of NY Office) 사단법인 한국민화협회 (뉴욕지부장) | www.folkpainting.net Curator of The Drawing Room New York | www.thedrawingroomnewyork.org
Judging Experiences
2016 The 26th Complex Medical Art Show at Weill Cornell Medical Library
The 40th Annual Children’s Art Contest at the Korean Times
The 25th Complex Medical Art Show at Weill Cornell Medical Library 2014 The 36th Annual Children’s Art Contest at the Korean Times 2013 The 14th Annual Young Adult’s Art Contest at the Korean Times
The 35th Annual Children’s Art Contest at the Korean Times