Suwon Lee


Suwon Lee is a Korean-Venezuelan artist based in Madrid, Spain.
IG xuwonx

Biography

Suwon Lee was born in 1977 to Korean parents in Caracas, Venezuela. She migrated from Venezuela in 2016 and often uses space and belonging as a theme in her photographs. In 2008, she won a grant awarded by Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation in Miami, and later that year, she. In this same year, she was included in her first solo show at Periférico Caracas. In the Younger than Jesus Artist Directory, a directory of emerging artists throughout the world, Suwon Lee was the only Venezuelan selected by an international jury to be in the book. In 2005, Suwon Lee and artist Luis Romero co-founded the alternative contemporary art space Oficina#1, located in Caracas. For her work with Oficnia#1, she was nominated and won the International Young Visual Arts Entrepreneur award from the British Council of Venezuela in 2008. Oficina#1 closed in 2016.

Education

Suwon Lee earned her BA in French studies at the American University of Paris in 2001. From 2001 to 2002, she studied photography at Speos Paris Photographic Institute. In 2006, she took the PHotoESPAÑA Masterclass with German photographer Axel Hütte. Alongside her Bachelor's Degree and Masterclass, she worked with Nelson Garrido in his photography workshop in Caracas, Venezuela.

Artworks

Suwon Lee primarily works in photography focusing on landscapes and cityscapes. Her images attempt to show a relationship between physical body and the natural world by emphasizing space, time, and light. More recently, she has worked in nude self-portraits are to show herself as the foreigner and the multicultural identity that she has lived with, being born in Venezuela and coming from Korean parents.

Exhibitions

Source:
TitleOrganizationLocationDate
Landscapes & Self-Portraits. Female Voices of Latin America.Vortic.artOnline PlatformApril 4 -
May 1, 2021
Mukthi Room” Solo Projects curated by Jesús Fuenmayor.Pinta MiamiMiami, US2015
HeimaEspacio Al BordeMaracaibo, Venezuela2013
The benign indifferenceGalería Fernando PradillaMadrid, Spain2012
Bling! Bling!Galpón 1Caracas, Venezuela2008

TitleOrganizationLocationDate
Futures Photography 2021PHotoESPAÑA Circulo de Bellas ArtesMadrid, Spain2021
Guangzhou Image Triennial 2021: Intermingling Flux. Curated by Gerardo MosqueraGuangdong Museum of ArtGuangzhou, China2021
Encuentros en tiempo presenteCentro de Arte AlcobendasMadrid, Spain2020
Portadores de sentido. Arte contemporáneo de la Colección Patricia Phelps de CisnerosMuseo AmparoPuebla, Mexico2019
Under Construction: Latin America Narratives in the CIFO CollectionCasa FugazCallao, Peru2019
Soul Mining: The influence of Asian culture and labor in Latin AmericaVincent Price Art MuseumLos Angeles, California, US2018
Soul Mining: The influence of Asian culture and labor in Latin AmericaArizona State University Art MuseumTempe, Arizona, US2017
América Latina 1963-2013Fondation Cartier pour l’Art ContemporainParis, France2013
9ª Bienal do Mercosul: Weather Permitting. Curated by Sofía Hernández Chong CuyFundação Bienal de Artes Visuais do MercosulPorto Alegre, Brazil2013
Voyage VoyageMaison de l’Amérique LatineParis, France2012
Once TiposSala MendozaCaracas, Venezuela2011
I Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo ULA 2010Universidad de Los AndesMérida, Venezuela2010
Shifting Constructs. CIFO Grants & Commissions ProgramCisneros Fontanals Art FoundationMiami, US2009
XII Salón Jóvenes con FIACorp BancaCaracas, Venezuela2009
Belong HereCentro Cultural de EspañaSantiago, Chile2008
Reflect/RefractRich GalleryLondon, United Kingdom2008
El Futuro es ahoraFototeca de Veracruz y CASA-OaxacaVeracruz, Mexico2007
Café con Leche: Cultura, Migración, IdentidadMuseo de Bellas Artes de CaracasCaracas, Venezuela2006
VII Salón CANTV Jóvenes con FIAAteneo de CaracasCaracas, Venezuela2004
VI Salón Pirelli de Jóvenes ArtistasMuseo de Arte Contemporáneo de CaracasCaracas, Venezuela2003
Contra>Sentido: Nueva Fotografía VenezolanaSala MendozaCaracas, Venezuela2003

Collections

Her artwork is held in major metropolitan museums including MoMA New York, Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, CIFO Miami, and Museu de Arte Brasileira da Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado.

Honors and awards

Source:
  • 2008 - Recipient of the International Young Visual Arts Entrepreneur Award by the British Council.
  • 2008 - Recipient of the Grants and Commissions Program awarded by Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation  in Miami.
  • 2010 – Emerging Artist Award 2009 from the International Association of Art Critics, Venezuelan Chapter.
  • 2011 – Young Artist Prize from the Venezuela Association of Fine Artists