Content provided in partnership with
Miki Lee at Lyons Wier - New York - painting exhibition
Art in America, Jan, 2003 by Melissa Kuntz
Korean-born Miki Lee takes the familiar trope of abstract stripe painting, adds to it her delight in color and embarks upon an obsessive and meditative art-making process. The resulting paintings are beautifully crafted and enormously fun to look at.
Each painting is made of approximately 70 to 100 zigzag vertical lines that follow an identical flowing pattern, although slight variations exist in the thicknesses of the lines. In Untitled #90, the wavelike stripes undulate gently, while in Untitled #79, they weave violently back and forth, forming horizontal V-shapes. The stripes are drawn and painted freehand, yet the crispness of the line could easily be attributed to a masking-off technique. There is, surprisingly, none of the optical trickery sometimes seen in stripe painting. Instead, these works are subtle and quiet, yet filled with mood.
- Most Popular Articles in Arts
- Art since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism
- Free-standing cardboard sculpture
- What makes a successful business person? Business people who are tops in ...
- Take advantage of local advertising: TV, newspaper or magazines? If your ...
- Tino Sehgal at the ICA
- More »
At first it seems as though colors are repeated within each painting. Only upon closer inspection does it become clear that no color appears twice on the same canvas. Creating hundreds of unique hues is not an easy task. Combining them so they appear harmonious and have no noticeable push-pull effect is also quite an achievement.
The size of these paintings plays a role in the viewer's interpretation. The largest paintings--Untitled #90 (84 by 72 inches) and Untitled #93 (90 inches square)--seem aggressive and confrontational, especially in comparison to the smallest and friendliest work in the show, Untitled #88 (2001), a cheery, 36-inch-square composition predominantly in oranges and fuchsias.
Each of the works in the exhibition seems to have its own distinct personality. A somber painting, Untitled #85 (2001) is the antithesis of Untitled #88. Blacks, dark grays and deep blues of similar value undulate across the surface, the tonal tendencies broken only by a few light cream and white lines. Untitled #76 is made of calming earthy greens, browns and taupes that evoke a sedate and lush natural environment. It is unexpected and wonderful that an artistic practice that is based on limitations and repetition can produce works as individual and varied as Lee's.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: Business
- Academy of Marketing Science Review
- Accounting Historians Journal, The
- Accounting History
- AgExporter
- Agricultural Research
- Agricultural and Resource Economics Review
- Air Force Comptroller
- Air Safety Week
- Airline Industry Information
- American Demographics
- American Journal of Potato Research
- Architectural Review, The
- Asian Economic News
- Entrepreneur