Jiyong Lee / Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis
October 24 – November 29, 2014
Lee’s Segmentation Series is inspired by his fascination with cell division. He works with glass that has simultaneous transparency and opacity: two qualities that metaphorically represent the clarity and mysteries of biology. Similar to the way “cells start to segment and become a life,” the uniquely refined translucent laminated glass surface suggest the mysterious qualities of cells, and on a larger scale, the ambiguity of our temporal existence.
As the viewer moves around Lee’s objects the play of light transforms the sculpture into startling new forms which play on our perceptions and our expectations.
The deceptive simplicity and understated intricacy of Lee’s compositions represent the contradictory relationship between clarity and complexity found within life.
Jiyong Lee is a studio artist and educator who lives and works in Carbondale, Illinois. An associate professor of art at Southern Illinois University, Lee has headed the glass program there since 2005. Lee was born and raised in South Korea. He earned his MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and taught there for several years. As an instructor, he also has taught at the Pilchuck Glass School, the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, the Pittsburgh Glass Center, the Domaine de Boisbuchet in France, Canberra Glassworks in Australia, Fire Station Artists’ Studios in Dublin, Ireland, and various other art institutions and universities nationally and internationally. Lee has served as a member of the board of directors for the Glass Art Society since 2009. He has won a number of honors, including the Emerging Artist Award from the Glass Art Society, several scholarships including the Saxe Award from the Pilchuck Glass School and the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass. His work was featured in New Glass Review 24 and 32 and has been exhibited and collected nationally and internationally, including the collection at Corning Museum of Glass.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10am – 5pm.
Contact
E: info@duanereedgallery.com
T: 314 361 4100
Duane Reed Gallery
4729 McPherson Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63108
United States
Above: Jiyong Lee, Purple Orange Cuboid Segmentation, 2014, Cut, color laminated, carved glass, 26.5 x 24 x 14 cm. Photo credit Jiyong Lee.
