Young Lim Lee: currently lives in Brooklyn, NY and studies at the New York Academy of Art.  She was born and grew up in Seoul, South Korea where she studied graphic design. After moving to the U.S in 2014, she earned another BFA in Painting, at the University of Georgia. Her brand of figurative photorealism, fused with expressive abstraction was developed through her cross-cultural experiences. Growing up in the collectivistic Asian culture where self-discipline is often valued over self-expression, then moving into a new American culture where self-expression is embraced favorably has been significantly influential in her personal life, consequently in her artwork as well. She constantly tries to adapt to the new culture in the U.S while keeping true to her origin. Her paintings, seamlessly glides through both cultures histories with stealth like precision. “I found myself experiencing cathartic moments when I find a great balance between the direct and intuitive treatment of materials and the high level of meticulousness which represent the new and the accustomed part of myself.” Young Lim Lee.

My current body of work explores the idea that my inner sensations and the aura generated by them can be captured and expressed through the visual elements, and the outwardly expressed inner state on the canvas can be visible to the audience. I often encounter complex moments that bring me into sensations that cannot be fully articulated with words, yet urges me to try and explain. They are primal and visceral; the sense of hearing, smell, touch, sometimes disarmingly ecstatic, sometimes chaotic. I attempt to bring out the incorporeal feelings physically by the use of expressive color and texture. The tactile qualities of the painted surface, and mark making without much mediation, allows me to  accentuate my feelings about the human figure through delicate facial expressions and subtle bodily gestures. I am always trying to reconcile realism with abstraction and premeditation with improvisation. Additionally, I use patterns or shapes that weave through the composition in an effort to enhance the atmosphere of the painting.