Heejoon Lee, 'On Board a Ship,' 2022, Acrylic and photo-collage on canvas, 160 x 160 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Image provided by Kukje Gallery.
Korean painter Heejoon Lee’s (b. 1988) work has been featured on Artsy. Lee views his abstract oil and photo collage works as platforms that capture new meanings rather than settling on a single interpretation. His art constructs a pictorial space through experimentation, allowing viewers to engage their experiences, memories, and knowledge to generate new meanings through their interactions with the artwork.
Throughout his career, Lee has focused on the urban environment, photographing buildings and integrating them into his art. He explores the city as a “flaneur,” seeking new meanings in everyday objects and places. His work transforms captured elements into abstract geometric forms that conflict with his expressive style, translating the specifics of locations into universal space. Lee’s use of photos informs his unique vision of the urban environment, and in recent works, he has abstracted them into two-dimensional art by painting bold, thick colors in logical, geometric styles, enhancing the sense of space and contrast between painting and digital imagery.
Lee’s abstract spaces engage with the observer’s perspective, oscillating between different concepts of space and place. Lee’s hope is for his images to generate stories for others, allowing viewers to navigate freely and non-linearly, creating a tapestry of shared stories and experiences through his work.
