JUNG LEE at Christophe Guye Galerie

Christophe Guye Galerie, Zürich

25 November, 2021 – 5 March, 2022

Christophe Guye Galerie announces the first solo exhibition in Europe of Korean artist Jung Lee (*1972, Seoul) at their gallery. The exhibition shows works from the series “Aporia” as well as some new and never shown before works. On this occasion the exhibition will be displayed throughout the entire gallery.

Jung Lee is best known for her photographs of text-based neon light installations set directly into the landscape. With contrasting sentimental phrases juxtaposed with stark layouts of deserted plains or barren snow fields, she makes strong various emotional statements. One of her sources of inspiration for many of her artworks is Roland Barthes’s book ‘A lover’s discourse’.

Lee slows everything down patiently analysing that most intense and overwhelming of states, unanswered desire – the language of complete love and the deep solitary state it throws the lover into. She collects clichéd expressions of love and hatred such as ‘I am lost in you’ and ‘Have you ever loved me?’ and gives them resonance in form of powerful proclamations.

For nearly a decade, the Seoul-based artist Jung Lee has been exploring text and neon both in photography and installations, inspiring people with her simple and intimate artistic language. She studied fine art photography in the UK, which has led to language becoming an integral part of her work. As Lee explains, ‘if my English had been perfect and good enough to fully express myself, I would never have been interested in language as a subject. My art stems from these combined experiences: as a foreign art student, a stranger in London, and also an observer of English language.‘