As the term, “a homing instinct,” indicates, her current artistic research lies in the instinctual directing homeward in terms of the philosophical return of dust to dust, and the poetic return to a physical homeland and to nature. Moreover, the pandemic lockdown made Jae Won Lee ponder upon a psychological and emotional horizon-expanding, only back to the country of origin for research and direct exchange opportunities in Korea, where she became absent for four decades. Jae Won explores this personal aspect as a means of conveying the inner landscape of her heart and mind through the creation of an interpretive visual language, using floral patterns and fragments of landscape. Under the title, “In Search of Streams and Mountains,” embarked on an artistic journey to a new territory, looking for those horizons of self in the exploration of the actual landscape views depicted in traditional Asian painting and poetry.
Jae Won Lee received a BFA in sculpture from California State University, Long Beach and an MFA in ceramics from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Lee is currently Professor at Michigan State University and other institutes she taught include Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camberwell College of Arts in London, the UK, and Chung Nam National University, Deajeon, Korea, California State University, Long Beach, and the University of Washington, Seattle.
