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In the Jungle
Lee Myungmi2025.10.13 ~ 2026.02.24
Description of the work
- Media Acrylic, oil and pencil on canvas
- Location LOTTE HOTEL SEOUL MAIN TOWER 1F
Rejecting the prevailing trends of monochrome and abstract painting of her time, Lee Myungmi established her own artistic language under the concept of play. Play has served not only as the title of her works, but also as the theme of many of her solo exhibitions since her debut in 1977. Through a spirit of joy and spontaneity, she has continually experimented with diverse forms to build a singular body of work.
Lee’s paintings are approachable and filled with delight. She works with the uninhibited freedom of a child, and her canvases invite the viewer to smile and feel uplifted. Across the surface, the pictorial elements she has long explored—dots, lines, numbers, and fragments of text—move freely in playful interaction. Canvases are sometimes pieced together like collages, with brushstrokes layered across different grounds, creating unexpected new contexts. Bold primary colors and direct, almost childlike texts fill her compositions with an energy that is at once striking and lighthearted.
The immediacy and vitality of her painting compel us to reconsider what art can be. While her work approaches the grand narratives of art history with irreverent humor, it also reveals a profound tenderness toward the ordinary and the fragile. It is this unreserved affection for life’s peripheral details that gives Lee’s work its distinctive warmth—and why her paintings leave us brighter in spirit.
Artwork Inquiry
+82-2-747-7736
Lee’s paintings are approachable and filled with delight. She works with the uninhibited freedom of a child, and her canvases invite the viewer to smile and feel uplifted. Across the surface, the pictorial elements she has long explored—dots, lines, numbers, and fragments of text—move freely in playful interaction. Canvases are sometimes pieced together like collages, with brushstrokes layered across different grounds, creating unexpected new contexts. Bold primary colors and direct, almost childlike texts fill her compositions with an energy that is at once striking and lighthearted.
The immediacy and vitality of her painting compel us to reconsider what art can be. While her work approaches the grand narratives of art history with irreverent humor, it also reveals a profound tenderness toward the ordinary and the fragile. It is this unreserved affection for life’s peripheral details that gives Lee’s work its distinctive warmth—and why her paintings leave us brighter in spirit.
Artwork Inquiry
+82-2-747-7736
About the author
Lee Myungmi (b. 1950) is an artist who studied painting at Hongik University and quickly gained recognition as the youngest female participant and founding member of the Daegu Contemporary Art Festival in 1974. She actively took part in major exhibitions such as the 《Indépendants》, 《Seoul Contemporary Art Festival》, and 《Korean Experimental Artists Exhibition》. Rejecting the dominance of Dansaekhwa and Conceptual Art, she built a unique painterly language guided by emotion and intuition.
Her paintings that marked by bold colors and spontaneous brushstrokes celebrate the joy of expression and the freedom of thought. Through thelanguage of “Play,” she transforms everyday objects, animals, plants, and letters into simple yet striking forms, elevating overlooked subjects into vivid symbols. She has exhibited widely at major institutions including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Tokyo Contemporary Asian Art Festival, Fukuoka Art Museum, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, and Kumho Museum of Art, as well as holding solo shows at Indang Museum and the Arts Council Korea Museum.
Her paintings that marked by bold colors and spontaneous brushstrokes celebrate the joy of expression and the freedom of thought. Through thelanguage of “Play,” she transforms everyday objects, animals, plants, and letters into simple yet striking forms, elevating overlooked subjects into vivid symbols. She has exhibited widely at major institutions including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Tokyo Contemporary Asian Art Festival, Fukuoka Art Museum, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, and Kumho Museum of Art, as well as holding solo shows at Indang Museum and the Arts Council Korea Museum.
Lee Myungmi (1950-, Korea)
B.F.A Graduated from Dept. of Western Painting, Hongik University, Seoul
M.F.A Graduated from Dept. of Art Education, Hongik University, Seoul
M.F.A Graduated from Dept. of Art Education, Hongik University, Seoul
