Yuni Lee: Mindscapes

January 21 - March 11, 2023

Press Release

Ro2 Art is proud to present Mindscapes, an exhibition of new work by Dallas-based artist Yuni Lee. The exhibition will open January 21 and remain on view through March 11, 2023, with an opening reception to be held at Ro2 Art’s expansive new gallery in Dallas’ Tin District, located at 2606 Bataan St., Dallas, TX, from 7-10pm.

In her newest solo exhibition Mindscapes, Yuni Lee presents a series of large-scale paintings that explore the dynamic relationship between nature and technology. Her work takes inspiration from organic objects, including leaves, flowers, and branches; and technology, such as circuit boards, microchips, and electronic devices, transforming them through varied stylistic devices into intricate, rhythmic networks. Lee’s multimodal approach to painting, ranging from energetic, gestural brush marks to tightly composed details, captures the complex realities of humanity’s interactions with the environment. Mindscapes creates a space for contemplating these interconnections and envisioning the interdependence we have between the natural and constructed worlds.

Artist Statement

Yuni Lee was born in South Korea, and from an early age was intrigued by traditional Korean artwork, the beauty of mainstream Korean culture, and many multicultural contemporary artists, all of which inspire her work. Lee’s inspiration, by the interactions that can be found between the organic and the geometric, are observed through nature and the evolution of mankind. In her paintings, she strives to synchronize the complexities of these dynamics; in an effort to relay and integrate the two subtleties with the feelings of organic and material design. In addition to her approach, she also brings her experience of her South Korean cultural upbringing and Journey, which both shaped and influenced her interest.

In translating the familiar, strange, and elegant patterns around us, as well as describing her thoughts on environmental consciousness, she chooses natural paradigms: flowers, trees, leaves, fruit, and animals; She then contrasts that with human-made structures representing humankinds’ accomplishments, circuitry, and modern technology. In juxtaposing the themes and shapes organically and rhythmically and using recycled mixed media as well as traditional painting techniques, her goal is to create discrete moments that can relay the strange and beautiful circumstance that is our humanity and place in the natural world. In understanding that the human influence on the environment is as much a part of nature as is what is also born from the earth, we can find balance in our habits. Our perception and beauty in what is both taken from and given back to us, our home, our Earth.

About the Artist

Yuni Lee is a mixed media artist with a diverse art-making practice using mixed-media to create abstract painting with vibrant colors and collective patterns to demonstrate dimensional harmony of both earth and technology. She is committed to making art about expression, power, and community. Her work shows the bright colorscapes and the materials of mass-production, mixing their DNA with the forms and palettes, dancing in the harmony of Korean impressions. She uses mixed color patterns, blending of materials to express different cultures and nature. Her large-scale paintings and installation works recycle elements of both contemporary and traditional visual culture.

She graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a Bachelor's Degree of Arts and Performance and subsequently earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the University of North Texas. She has participated in numerous group and collaborative exhibitions nationally, including the Dallas Art Fair, ArtAspen, Fort Worth Art Center, and the Greater Denton Art Council. She is currently a Lead Faculty professor for the Foundations Program at the University of North Texas. She is represented by Ro2 Art Gallery in Dallas, Texas, where she currently lives and works.