Memento Mori marks the first institutional exhibition by the Los Angeles based artist Suhn Lee (b. 1983, Los Angeles) whose practice synthesizes ceramics and textiles. Drawn to the meditative and process-driven nature of these materials, Lee’s sculptures externalize the psychological experiences of anxiety, perfectionism, and grief. Informed by her Korean American heritage, the artist presents a series of sculptures that she describes as “creatures”: small to medium-sized ceramics armored with beadwork, sequins, and fabric. Their abstracted, geometric forms are inspired by ten symbols of longevity and prosperity derived from various Asian cultures, like turtles, clouds, and mushrooms.
Lee’s repetition-driven practice of stitching and adhering or shaping and firing clay becomes a process akin to a physical mantra of transmuting pain whose effects cultivate reverence for the mundane. “Remember you must die,” the dialectical expression behind the latin phrase that titles this exhibition mirrors Lee’s artistic practice of indexing life’s challenges as relics or tokens akin to evidence of a life well lived.
Suhn Lee: Memento Mori is curated by arts associate, Samantha Alexis Manuel with LAMAG curator, Hugo Cervantes.
In celebration of the gallery’s 70th year anniversary, LAMAG revisited its popular Open Call exhibition in 2023-2024, featuring 350 artists living and/or working in Southern California. In lieu of the traditional Best in Show cash prize, LAMAG awarded participating artist Suhn Lee with the gallery’s project space to develop an exhibition.
Suhn Lee (b. 1989) is a Los Angeles based artist with a focus in ceramics and textiles. Her work is heavily influenced by her Korean American upbringing and explores her culture’s obsession with image and overachievement. At the core of her practice is a psychological examination of time, anxiety, and self worth in conjunction with a reverence for the present moment. The slow nature of her work is, in part, an act of silent rebellion against society’s preoccupation with productivity, efficiency, and status.
She received a B.A. in Communications from UC San Diego and graduated Cum Laude from Southwestern Law School. She has a legal background in Intellectual Property licensing and experience in Fashion Buying and Merchandising. She has recently exhibited at Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles; Space Ten Gallery, Hawthorne; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions’s (LACE) Art Benefit; LH Horton Jr Gallery, Stockton; and completed residencies at the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine.
Suhn Lee currently teaches ceramics at Otis College of Art and Design.
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