South Korean-born artist Jiyong Lee, who has headed the Southern Illinois University glass program since 2005, will open his first solo exhibition at Seattle's Traver Gallery tonight with an exhibition entitled "Invisible Microcosm." An opening reception this evening at Traver Gallery will offer the first look at some of Lee's new explorations of the beauty of cellular biology, a focus of the artist's exacting work for decades. Rigorous cutting, lamination, carving and surface treatments are just some of the techniques he has perfected to achieve his understated but refined aesthetic of the "Segmentation" series. Lee will be the subject of an in-depth feature article in the upcoming Fall 2023 edition of Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#172) by contributing editor William Ganis.
"More than most artworks, Lee’s sculptures require the presence of the viewer as optical revelations are arguably the point of each piece," said Ganis in an email exchange with the Hot Sheet. "Lee challenges what we think we know about glass and the making processes. Perhaps because we have experienced so much colored or etched glass, it’s hard to pinpoint what’s different in his high-chroma laminates, or how a seemingly uniform hazy surface treatment yields controlled and shifting perceptions of depth. All the better, we can intellectually know how he achieves these effects, but such demystification takes nothing from the magic, and only helps us to appreciate his perfected endeavors."
IF YOU GO:
Jiyong Lee
"Invisible Microcosm"
July 6 - 29, 2023
Traver Gallery
110 Union Street #200
Seattle
Website
T: 206.587.6501
E: info@travergallery.com