JUNG LEE Solo Exhibition
25 November 2021 – 5 March 2022
Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Press Release
Christophe Guye Galerie is thrilled to announce the first solo exhibition in Europe of Korean artist Jung Lee (*1972, Seoul) at the gallery. The exhibition shows works from the series ‘Aporia‘, as well as some new and never shown before works. On this occasion the exhibition will be displayed throughout the entire gallery.
Jung Lee is best known for her photographs of text-based neon light installations set directly into the landscape. With contrasting sentimental phrases juxtaposed with stark layouts of deserted plains or barren snow fields, she makes strong various emotional statements. One of her sources of inspiration for many of her artworks is Roland Barthes’s book ‘A lover’s discourse’. Lee slows everything down patiently analyzing that most intense and overwhelming of states, unanswered desire – the language of complete love and the deep solitary state it throws the lover into. She collects clichéd expressions of love and hatred such as ‘I am lost in you’ and ‘Have you ever loved me?’ and gives them resonance in form of powerful proclamations.
For nearly a decade, the Seoul-based artist Jung Lee has been exploring text and neon both in photography and installations, inspiring people with her simple and intimate artistic language. She studied fine art photography in the UK, which has led to language becoming an integral part of her work. As Lee explains, 'if my English had been perfect and good enough to fully express myself, I would never have been interested in language as a subject. My art stems from these combined experiences: as a foreign art student, a stranger in London, and also an observer of English language.‘
Exhibited Works
The End #2, 2020, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 160 × 200 cm
I Love You With All My Heart #2, 2020, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 160 × 200 cm
You Are In My Heart, 2020, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 136 × 170 cm
You #2, 2019, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 185 × 148 cm
Promise Me, 2018, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 160 × 200 cm
HEART, 2018, C-type Print, 170 × 136 cm
I Am Lost In You, 2017, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 160 × 200 cm
Why? #3, 2016, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 144 × 180 cm
Have You Ever Loved Me?, 2010, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 125 × 100 cm
You, You, You……, 2010, From the Series ‘Aporia’, C-type Print, 125 × 100 cm
Image Post-Production: 김수경 SU KYUNG KIM / 포토피아 PHOTOPIA
Neon Production: 유상운 SANG UN YOO / 미래아트네온 FUTURE ART NEON
Exhibition Review
Critics' Picks / ART FORUM / 2022
https://www.artforum.com/events/jung-lee-249531
