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4. wonderland-1, 88.5x75cm,acrylic on canvas, 2020, 600만원.jpg

SARA LEE  이사라

 Since Lee Sara made her debut as an artist, she has been painting girl dolls with looks reflecting indifferent or ambiguous feelings. Her doll paintings with highly realistic expression and classical composition attracted the attention of the art world and her name became widely known. Since then, she has been carrying out active artistic activities through many gallery exhibitions and art collaborations with enterprises. Her works manifest philosophy-combining painting with a history of ideas or cultural history in terms of style as well as traces influenced by Pop art and hyperrealism. On the other hand, she expresses a more colorful and optimistic world through the canvas composed and filled with numerous objects. In particular, her works in this exhibition constitute plane (2D) images, which are incomparable with her previous works. She still sticks to exquisite coloring and drawing equal to the earlier works. However, in terms of figuration, they remind us of festivals and carnivals for they are composed of a variety of forms from her memory. All images with repeated scratches are combined with absolutely bright and complex forms. After coloring, she creates her wished images and texture by scratching the completely dry surface with a sharp needle. The scratch process requires a balance of mind beyond mere techniques or labor. The process of making forms and patterns by drawing lines through scratching looks like that of embroidering based on a needle and thread. The surface of the canvas is covered with rugged texture created by strands of the fabric, and the artist fills the uneven texture with paint to make a smoother and more even surface. By scratching on top of it, she makes rugged and uneven textures. This newly created ruggedness fills the entire surface of the work and represents skin embracing the body of the painting. This process of scratching complex and complicated figurations and splendorous colors one by one reminds us of that of inlaying the surface of ceramics in diverse colors and forms. The thinnest relief or etching and painting are constituted in symbols, signs, and patterns, and assimilate each other with delicacy. They are the surface and images with extreme sense, labor, and immersion concentration.  Sara Lee’s figure work “Lucky bear” represents dolls in her childhood memory. Dolls may have comprehensive meaning. Babies feel comfort, happiness, and satisfaction with their toy friends. Now dolls transformed into ‘Lucky bears “ in her artworks. The image of “Lucky bear” provides us a kind of charm or more like a guardian angel. She hopes that children can fly to the wonderland full of dreams and happiness and adults can look back on their once innocent world with the lovely work “Lucky bear“.

Awards 

2020  Best Insadong Character Artist (Insadong Traditional Culture Preservation Society)

2006  Best Young Artist (Seoul Art Center)  2005  New Frontier (Danwon Art Center)

2004  Dong A Art Festival (National Museum Of Contemporory Art)

2003  Christian art Festival (Chosun Newspaper Art Museum)

2002  Na Hae Duk Art Festival (Suwon Art Museum)

Solo Exhibitions

2020  Gallery Daon (Wonderland)
2019  Insa Artcenter (Colorpool)
2018  Gallery Suppoment (Wonderand)
2017  Art Space H (Good Luck To You)
2016  Gallery Lee Jung A (Dream)
2016  Gallery Bon (Dream)2016  Gallery Ro (Lucky Bear)
2016  Gallery Bon (Dream)
2015  Seo Ho Art Museum (Dream)
2013  Gana Art Space (Dream)
2014, 2012, 2010, 2009 2008, 2007  Seoul Arts Center (Dream)
2010  Gallery Kin Hyun Ju (Dream)
2008  Gallery H (Dream)
2004  Seo Ho Gallery (Dream)

Collaborations 

<Samsung TV> Home styling Collaboration
<Be My Love> Lotte Gana Chocolate Design Collaboration 
<Sara Lee> Brand Launching Marie Saint Collaboration 
<Koreana Cosmetic>Pakage Design Collaboration 
<Kwanpen> X <Bear brick> Design Collaboration 
<Monsine> Fabric Design Collaboration 
<ArtG> Pakage Design Collaboration 
<Moque New York> Fabric Design Collaboration 
<Rapunzel> Hair Shop Design Collaboration 
<Hwa Em Orchestra> X Sara Lee  Dream Concert Collaboration 

 

Lecturers (2007- Present)

Seoul Digital University (Represent of Art&Design)
Hong Ik University
Daejin University
SookMyung University
Gangleung University
Hanyang University
Shin Ra University
Digital Seoul Culture & Arts University

 

Collections 

National Museum of Contemporary Art (Art Bank)
Space Mom Art Museum
Moran Art Museum
Heart Heart Foundation
Seoul USC Dental Clinic
Laon Stay Hotel
Sook Myung University
And more

 

Residency (2016-present)

Gana Art Park

Art Fair

2020 Kiaf (Coex, Seoul)
2020  Gallery Art Fair (Coex, Seoul)
2019  One Art Taipei (Taipei)
2019  Gallery Art Fair (Coex, Seoul)
2019  AHAF (Paradise Hotel, Busan)
2018  Harbour Art Fair (Hongkong)
2018  ArtAsia (Kintex)
2018  Dream Art Fair (Han River Park)
2018  Art Expo (Coex)
2018  Gallery Art Fair (Coex, Seoul)
2018  Seoul Modern Art Show (Seoul Arts Center)
2017  AHAF (HongKong, Seoul)
2017  Harbour Art Fair (Hongkong)
2017  Pink Art Fair (Intercontinental Hotel, Seoul)
2017  Gallery Art Fair (Coex, Seoul)
2016  KIAF (Coex, Seoul)
2016  Hongkong Affordable Art Fair (HongKong)
2016  Spoon Art Fair (Kintex)
2016  Gallery Art Fair (Coex, Seoul)
2015  TAIPEI Art Fair (TAIPEI)
2015  BUSAN Art Show (Bexco, Busan)
2015  DAEGU Art Fair (Exco, Daegu)
2014  KIAF (Coex, Seoul)
2014  MACAO Art Fair (MACAO)
2012  MANIF (Seoul Arts Center)
2012  BIAF (Bexco, Busan)
2012  SMAS (Sejong Cultural Center, Seoul)
2011  SOAF (Coex, Seoul)
2011  Green Cake Art Fair (Shinsege Department store, Seoul)
2011  SMAS (Sejong Cultural Center, Seoul)
2010  AHAF (Japan, HongKong, Seoul)
2010  KCAF (Seoul Arts Center)
2010  BIAF (Bexco, Busan)
2009  KCAF (Seoul Arts Center)
2007  KCAF (Seoul Arts Center)
2005  KCAF (Seoul Arts Center)

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