Sound is made visible as subtle energy in Hyunmee Lee’s deceptively simple paintings. A cross pollination of traditions, combining eastern calligraphy with western gestural abstraction- Lee is grounded in the mid 20th century, yet transcends categorization in time. Glyph like forms in rich browns and dense black bring to mind the work of Franz Klein, Robert Motherwell and Cy Twombly. For her, the repetitive action of forming letters becomes a meditation. Using natural gestures to create a breathing spaciousness- open ended expanses... Read more

Sound is made visible as subtle energy in Hyunmee Lee’s deceptively simple paintings. A cross pollination of traditions, combining eastern calligraphy with western gestural abstraction- Lee is grounded in the mid 20th century, yet transcends categorization in time. Glyph like forms in rich browns and dense black bring to mind the work of Franz Klein, Robert Motherwell and Cy Twombly. For her, the repetitive action of forming letters becomes a meditation. Using natural gestures to create a breathing spaciousness- open ended expanses filled with light and airy freshness, Lee shares her pleasure in the process of deconstructing calligraphic form.

The series titled Native Mumbling refers to “consonants and vowels from the Korean alphabet…” A B C sounds with no intrinsic meaning. She defines mumbling as a gesture – by both saying and writing the letters, Sounds bring me energy … repeating and erasing chants in my work brings forth a lightness. Arriving at this lightness brings happiness and peace.