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Which art books, prints and posters are available by and about this artist? Here is a sample of items of interest to a typical collector:
“This series comes from something closer to me, something familiar. That familiarity comes is the act of waiting and a secret communication between myself and the objects. This familiarity, in turn, becomes unfamiliar through the emptiness of thought. Emptiness, like the white space in a photograph, makes the objects dream.” _Jungjin Lee, 2025 JungJin Lee’s “Thing” series consists of works capturing everyday objects in intimate close-ups, which are then printed in black and white on Korean handmade paper. Through a meditative shooting process, the artist distills the essence of the subject, removing all extraneous elements. Backgrounds and shadows are eliminated, and the forms are simplified, while the empty spaces are filled with the artist’s emotions and internalized thoughts. In particular, the white spaces surrounding each dark object reflect an Eastern painting and calligraphy concept of “emptiness.” Through this blank space, the objects acquire a new meaning. Lee raises questions about the artistic role of exploring and expressing the essence of existence through observation.
Jungjin Lee, Korean, b. 1961
Lee is internationally revered for breathtaking black-and-white photographs that evoke a deep, meditative state. In her practice, Lee has concentrated on capturing vast, expansive landscapes from around the globe, from deserts to oceans to mountains. She is interested in eternity and exploring how the landscape might reflect inner emotional states. Working with large-format cameras and printing on handmade mulberry paper, Lee is also known for her technical craftsmanship.
Lee began photographing in the 1980s while studying ceramics at Hongik University. In the early 1990s various trips took her into the endless expanse of America, where she captured archaic, primal images of deserts, rocks, undergrowth, and cactuses. Drawing on her South Korean heritage, the artist developed a highly unique pictorial language in series such as Ocean, On Road, Pagodas, Things, and Wind, in which her fundamental interest in nature and culture is expressed in a space of poetic resonance. In her work, Jungjin Lee taps her profound understanding for materiality, texture, and craftsmanship. Working with Liquid Light, she applies photosensitive emulsion onto rice paper with a coarse brush.
In 1991 she graduated from New York University with an MFA in photography. She soon after worked as an assistant to acclaimed photographer Robert Frank. By 1996 her work was regularly exhibited at major institutions, including the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 2021, Lee participated in the Bienal de São Paulo.
