Susan Lee

Artist Statement

Art has always been a passion. I first started painting in classes at the Corcoran School of Art and later at the New York Studio School. I started designing and creating jewelry which sold at local designer markets in New York City. I put on an art show in the Lower East Side where I sold early paintings. At the start of the pandemic, I finally left the nonprofit sector to pursue a career as a full-time artist. I have exhibited in a Los Angeles show, "In the Abstract" (March 2022), a Highland Park Art Center show, "Nature vs Nurture" (June 2022), and will have a solo exhibit at the MUI Gallery in September 2022.

Building on my experiences as Asian American woman, I use my art to express feelings - from anger to hope - about individual trauma and collective trauma around race and gender. Art and design can be powerful tools for change. Focusing primarily on abstract acrylic paintings, I combine abstraction, design, color, text and texture to explore issues of social justice.

Biography

Susan Sohyoung Lee is a Korean American abstract artist based in Los Angeles. After a 25-year career in the nonprofit sector in NYC, DC, and Los Angeles, where she worked on systems change and race equity in public education and homelessness/housing. Susan is now focusing full-time on her art. Her paintings explore trauma and hope/healing around race and gender. Susan holds a BA from Harvard University in African American Women's Literature (focusing on Toni Morrison), and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Exhibition History (CV)