Lisbeth Thalberg
ONE AND J. Gallery is pleased to present the gallery’s first exhibition with Ahnnlee Lee. The exhibition “Puck, Nocturnal Paints” will be on view from 7th July through 18th August 2024. Puck is the vivacious fairy in William Shakespeare’s famous comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and is an important motif in the exhibition. Puck loves to play tricks on people and laugh at the chaos that he creates. Puck secretly drops magical juice of the flower Pangy on the eyelids of the man and woman sleeping in the forest at night, making them fall head-over-heels in love with each other. By puck’s trick, it becomes botched and chaos ensues with the love triangle in the play. In the exhibition “Puck and the Night’s Pictures,” Purk is metaphorized as Ahnnlee Lee. Lee closely observes plants in his garden and other large and small things around him, and also takes a deeper look at human relationships. Our daily lives seem to repeat themselves, but if we look closely, they are filled with the dynamic situations and complex emotions derived from numerous human relationships. Lee captures emotions and experiences from his daily relationships for this exhibition. Like as Purk sneaks into a relationship, Lee secretly intervenes in complex and subtle human relationships including love, and captures it in anticipation of a new situation. As if looking forward to a new relationship, he throws paint on the canvas randomly, improvises lines that go against what he intended, or sneaks something into the painting so that only the artist himself can know as a secret.
His new paintings, including Kiss (2024), Carnival Confetti (2024), and Olive Trip (2024), are mainly made of sand. Sand is a common material used in sculptures, and Lee uses it in paintings by utilizing his experience in making them and the characteristics of sand that he can slowly build up. The process of mixing sand, acrylic, and various pigments and taking them out when they dry and repainting them is repeated. In this process, the artist draws emotion and reason by moving them back and forth, and completes the painting when it is painted in tiny units like spots.
About the Artist
Ahnnlee Lee (b. 1985, Korea) attentively observes the surrounding details and fleeting moments, including seeds, leaves, flowers, fruits, light, and birds. Drawing from his senses, he explores the inherent purity of his subjects, expressing it through a balanced and sculptural approach. Through gestures like scratching, weaving, and scraping, he infuses vitality into small and tranquil existences.
Ahnnlee Lee received his DNAP and DNSAP degrees from Beaux-Arts de Paris in France. He has held solo exhibitions at ONE AND J. Gallery, Seoul (2024); Drawing Space SAALGOO, Seoul (2018); Drawing Space SAALGOO, Seoul (2016) and a duo exhibition at ONE AND J. Gallery, Seoul (2023). Participated in group exhibitions including New Spring Project, Seoul (2024); Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Gyeonggi (2023); ONE AND J. Gallery, Seoul (2023); Frieze No.9 Cork Street, London (2023); Wumin Art Center, Cheongju (2022); Lee Kang Ha Art Museum, Gwangju (2022); ONE AND J. Gallery, Seoul (2022); Space So, Seoul (2021); HITE Collection, Seoul (2020); Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeju (2018); Seongbuk Creation Center, Seoul (2017) and others.
If you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.
Title: Puck, Noctu rnal Paintings
Artist: Ahnnlee Lee
Exhibition Dates: 7 July – 18 August 2024
Venue: ONE AND J. Gallery (26, Apgujeong-ro 60-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06014, Korea)
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 6pm (Closed on Mondays and holiday)
Opening Reception: 7 July, Sunday, 6pm – 9pm
Summer Night Program(Extended hours for exhibition): 9 – 14 July, 11am – 10pm
Website: oneandj.com
