Lee Yejoo
b. 1995, South KoreaKorean artist Lee Yejoo is known for her evocative abstract sculptures that explore the boundaries between body, matter, and memory. Drawing on observations and fleeting moments from her everyday urban life, Lee creates painted sculptural forms embodying the intersection of perception and physicality.
Early Years
Born in 1995 in Seoul, Lee Yejoo received her BFA from Seoul National University of Science & Technology in 2019, a foundation that informs her approach to contemporary sculpture.
Lee Yejoo Artworks
Lee Yejoo’s practice centers on the deep interconnectedness of body and sculpture. The artist primarily works with plaster, transferring her own movements into the subtle, fluid forms that suggest the bodily actions of leaning, standing, sitting, or lying. In addition to freestanding sculptures, Lee also creates wall reliefs.
Space and Materiality
Lee Yejoo begins her process with plaster, paying attention to the way the malleable medium begins to assert materiality in the three-dimension. When hardened, Lee’s sculptures often have uneven tactile surfaces that are then covered with layers of acrylic paint. Fine particles of the paint bleed into one another, resulting in luminous undertones and almost iridescent transition of colours.
In her earlier ‘Loose’ series (2021), small-scale plaster sculptures vary in their shapes and textures, some recalling a ball of scrunched paper or a porous lump of green and purple. When the series was shown at Lee’s solo exhibition Sisihan Gigi at 100_0, Seoul, in 2021, they were presented on the carpeted floor alongside larger sculptures, appearing as if they were fragments of a greater whole.
Phenomenology
The columnal, jagged, arching, or flat appendages of Lee’s sculptures are from the artist’s daily experiences as she navigates the urban landscape with her body. Her concern with perception reflects the influence of French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s work on phenomenology, which foregrounds the body as a fundamental site for experiencing the world.
Exhibitions
Lee Yejoo has shown her works at numerous galleries in Seoul and Jakarta. Lee is represented by THEO in Seoul.
Lee Yejoo’s instagram can be found here.
Lee Yejoo FAQs
Where can I see Lee Yejoo’s artworks?
Lee Yejoo’s works are regularly exhibited by THEO in Seoul, which represents the artist, and have been exhibited at Ranuza Building, Jakarta. Major works and available art pieces are also featured on Ocula and Artsy.
Which materials does Lee Yejoo use?
Lee Yejoo primarily works with plaster, chosen for its malleability and evocative presence, which she often combines with polystyrene and acrylic.
What is an interesting fact about Lee Yejoo?
Lee Yejoo’s sculptural work is influenced by Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, emphasizing the role of the body in perception and creation. She is known for integrating her own body into the making of her art.
How do you correctly pronounce ‘Lee Yejoo’?
The name is pronounced as ‘Lee Yeh-joo’.
Ocula | 2025
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