Photograph by Jeff Kearns

Works by Yunsun Lee are on exhibit in the gallery at Villa Montalvo.




Former resident artist exhibits at Montalvo

Introspective winter in Saratoga Hills inspired collection

By Shari Kaplan

One and a half years ago, Yunsun Lee was an artist-in-residence at Villa Montalvo. Surrounded by the peace and beauty she says she felt during her introspective winter in the Saratoga foothills, Lee added a handful of new works to her already large repertoire. These creations now join other paint and mixed-media works in "Restless Sleep and Bright Shadows," now on display at The Gallery at Montalvo.

At 30-something, Lee already holds a bachelor's of fine arts degree in painting, a master's of fine arts in printmaking and is a part-time professor at both Seoul National University and Chugye University in her native Korea. She has been participating in group exhibitions since 1988--in Korea, Hungary, Switzerland, Belgium and the United States--and in solo exhibitions since 1994.

"There is always a very dangerous line to being both an artist and a teacher. It takes a lot of energy to teach because you're dealing with students who you have to give attention to," Lee explains. Although she enjoys meeting with and helping others, she says sometimes she craves more time to spend in her home studio in the Korean countryside.

It is these peaceful times, whether at her home studio or in a residency studio like Montalvo, that let Lee take her ever-changing thoughts and express them using colors and shapes.

"I get very quiet and I just work. It's been a very good companion for me, because when I get really upset, or tired, or happy, this is a way to go inside myself and recall what's going on," she says. "It's a way for me to have a conversation with myself. It makes me feel better; sometimes I solve my problems by having these quiet times with myself."

"Dawn" and the "Sleep" series are among the paintings on display whose genesis came during the quiet times at Montalvo. While recovering from jet lag, Lee found herself painting at 3 or 4 in the morning. Sometimes she awakened without anything particular she wanted to paint, but often she arose with memories of shapes and symbols that had passed through her sleeping mind.

The predominant images in this exhibit are seashells, which Lee sees as symbolic of women and feminine energy, perhaps due to their association with water and rebirth. Depicted in different ways on her colorful canvases, the shells beckon to viewers. Lee says she also likes shells because of the contrast between their hard exteriors and soft, hidden interiors.

What she likes most about art in general, however, is much simpler: "The good thing about making art is that it freezes time. When I look at my old art, I can immediately go back and remember how I felt at that time in my life," she explains with a smile.

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"Restless Sleep and Bright Shadows" runs through Aug. 15. The Gallery, at 15400 Montalvo Road, is open Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

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