Youngsoo LEE

Poppy painting by Lee Young Soo

A refined sense of form and a feast of colors

Shin Hang-seop / Art Critic

Any painter who likes to paint flowers must have been drawn to a poppy. Its shape, color and the name itself are all attractive enough to lure artists. It often represents a woman of unparalleled beauty, and as the name signifies, there is the sheer beauty in the poppy. Of all poppy species, the red-flowered corn poppy, the most abundant kind, boasts its stunningly seductive beauty. It is almost mesmerizing to see the way its red petals on a slender stalk are blown by the wind.

Lee Young Soo may have not resisted the temptation of the poppy. As seen in her recent works of art, she’s deeply devoted to admiring the beauty of the field poppy, or the corn poppy. For Lee, who previously focused on water drops on a leaf, it must have been a new attempt with a new subject matter. First of all, the shift of color from green to red gives a whole new impression. However, no significant difference has been made in technique and artistic sentiment. Lee continuously seeks to achieve painterly beauty through her sophisticated, elaborate and realistic descriptive power.

A poppy is a biennial flowering plant that can grow anywhere. In particular, the corn poppy is not considered rare, as it is found everywhere around May and June. Still, with its brilliant red color, the poppy stands out among other flowering plants. When looking at a group of poppy flowers in bloom, one is almost dazzled by its splendid red color.

It is the distinctive beauty in its red color and shape that led Lee to choose a poppy as a subject of her work. Vivid red emanating from a bunch of poppy flowers forms a massive abstractive image in itself. When the same-colored, red flowers are clustered together, each shape of a poppy flower becomes indistinguishable from one another. Supposedly for this reason, it is no less easy to paint using a red color alone. Each flower can’t be identified due to its similar colors.

Despite the difficulty, Lee Young Soo didn’t hesitate to take the corn poppy as a subject. In fact, Lee has dispelled this concern in her poppy series by properly adjusting light and colorfulness to solve the problem. There’s no difficulty in distinguishing the shape of each flower. And it is mainly attributable to Lee’s effective use of light.

The color of light changes throughout the day, different in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Although light comes from the same source of the sun, the color in the air varies depending on the angle, reflection, and temperature. Therefore, by fully understanding this physical phenomenon, one can successfully deliver a variety of visual effects. In light of this, Lee’s series of works on the poppy seem to enjoy a set of variations enabled by her deep appreciation of light and rich aesthetic sensibility.

Lee’s paintings also deal with poppy flowers of yellow, white, pink other than red. The combination of various colored flowers creates an intense visual image, whereas the contrast of colors brings a theatrical image. Moreover, Lee stages different settings including an image of flowers whose shapes are blurred due to being swayed by the wind. By doing so, she attempts to deliver a range of formative variations as well as representational depictions. These varied formative interpretations are effective in highlighting the characteristics of contemporary painting.

Lee’s previous artworks where she was fascinated by leaves and dew drops, offered her strictly limited choices of colors for their green tones. On the other hand, her poppy series find pleasure in using a wider range of colors thanks to the availability of diverse colors in poppies. Colorful poppies themselves are capable of bringing the audience the utmost visual pleasure. As if Lee’s aesthetic sensibility and sense respond to the nature of the poppy, Lee’s poppy series are ablaze with colors to the point of being dazzling.

Lee Young Soo employs dewdrops in her poppy series, putting her recent paintings in line with her previous works. The only difference is the change of a subject material. Dewdrops on red, yellow and other bright colored poppy flowers look more transparent and crystal clear like jewels. It reminds us that it is the transparent nature of dewdrops that effectively work as an aesthetic component in shedding light on the pure sense of each color. When Lee’s subtle power of description and formative sense acquired through dewdrop series are combined with poppies, the viewer is ushered in a world of a more elevated spirit and emotion.

This could be the reason why her works evoke aesthetic inspiration as well as visual pleasure in the audience. Various formative interpretations based on a harmonious blend of colors, transparency of color, unlimited color “forme,” and contemporary formative beauty are all brought together to prove where the genuine painterly beauty comes from. Her focus has been shifted from representational work centering around expression of form toward the beauty created from the contrast of balanced color combination. That is, Lee doesn’t hide her curiosity about color “forme.”

Most notably, several non-figurative paintings of her recent works display another dramatic formative change, which is almost transformative for her. It is an indication of a more direct and active interest in abstraction. Without question, poppies form the basis of non-figurative images. By adding a sense of artificiality to an existing, natural setting of a poppy, the scene changes into a non-figurative image. Here, camera movement techniques come into play. Lee removes or obscures shapes by using the same techniques as tilting or panning that involve adjusting shutter speed and moving a camera to create a dynamic image.

In a closer look, reality and abstraction, the two opposite concepts may not be that different. When an actual image is zoomed in, that image is gone, only leaving an abstract image. The same is true of Lee’s new approach to a non-figurative world. There exists the real image of a poppy in a real world, not an imaginative one, which is expressed in a non-figurative manner.

Now, Lee Young Soo departs from a standard pattern of realistic description, and pursues images of showy and abundant colors. Surely, she may well be prepared to fully enjoy a feast of colors through freer non-figurative languages.

Lee Youngsoo and the Longing for a World of Innocence

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

. . .

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

This is an excerpt from Walt Whitman’s poem “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”. It indirectly communicates the need for poetry and art because scientific knowledge alone is not enough for our understanding of the world. What if art did not exist in the world? I shudder at the mere thought of it.

Lee Youngsoo’s painting seems to quench the thirst that science cannot relieve. Her paintings, packed with flowers in full bloom, are as splendid and lush as if in festivity. The dance of the flowers cannot but coax a smile from the viewer. Just as one cannot imagine an autumn absent of brown, a knoll without flowers is equally unimaginable. But there is something special about the flowery knoll that the painter looks over. Her landscape paintings are brimming with clusters of jewels and flowers crowned with laurel wreaths. This personification of the plants suggests that the painter regards nature as having a vibrancy and energy that surpasses that of mere living organisms. Watching the flowers, she gains the strength to break free of the shackles of daily routine.

Flowers were symbols of ‘withering’ and ‘transience’ for Dutch Vanitas Painters in the 17th century, yet adversely are also symbolic of the greatness of life. When we witness the buds first appear from barren branches and ripen into a light green, we ourselves become poets. By this time, we may feel the urge to christen each and every leaf. The same is true for the flowers, trees, and shrubs scattered all around the fields. Looking at them, it is as if one has found wealth without extravagance. It can be understood why all the painters of the past singularly and collectively admired nature. Flowers represent beauty. The beauty sparks our yearnings and kindles a sort of nostalgia. As C.S. Lewis once said, we cannot help but think that it is a ‘sign of the future’ that has already arrived but not yet been completed.

In the background of her path to becoming a painter, there is a picture diary of her childhood. As a girl who had a natural talent and interest in painting, there would have been no greater joy than that of those times. The motif of flowers and plants, a repertoire of her work, has also something to do with her childhood experiences. It is said that her house had an unusually large, beautiful garden, where many plants and flowers grew. Given this background that may have led to the birth of her work today, it can be seen that her painting of plants is not just a choice of still life, but rather derived from an intimacy with nature.

Notable among her previous works is the Hope of the Snowflower series, which was produced around 2010. In it is depicted a pure and elegant flower that shyly emerges from a white snowfield. The painting captures the emergence of tiny life peeking through the middle of a cold winter when the ice had not melted yet. I fully sympathize with the artist’s gaze upon that which is tiny and powerless. Looking at these flowers, it would not be an idle thought to recall the meaning of the phrase ‘Plum blossoms do not sell their fragrance even though they have to suffer from cold for life’ (一生寒不賣香).

Breaking away from her tendency towards the static, her canvas nowadays is replete with splendid colors and images. We may need to remember that these works have not emerged out of the blue, but rather are derived from the artist’s sentiments towards nature. As a means to render the vitality of the object, the painter enhances vividness by adding hues such as pink, violet, sky blue, green, and pale yellow to the multiple layers of underpainting. To highlight the shapes of the flowers she also plays with the ‘lens focus’ of the painting, adding clarity of the foreground while blurring the background. With this technique, only a part of the picture comes into view. In other words, it prevents the distraction of the gaze and compressively emphasizes certain focal points. As such, she depicts these focal points elaborately, while she uses a technique of drawing the paint thinly and evenly on the canvas for the rest. The color of the canvas contrasts or harmonizes with other colors to add to the richness.

In addition, Lee has released works depicting water drops or dewdrops hanging on the leaves of trees or grass. Works on this subject, which is her specialty, are more subdued and are calmer than the flowers in full bloom.

Here she is drawing attention to the drops of water on the grass rather than to the lush and sumptuous display of all sorts of flowers in full bloom. In other words, she focuses on water droplets rather than showing sundry images. We encounter such a scene of course when we walk in a wooded forest or by the roadside at dawn in the early hours of morning. We may see it in the green ears of barley in the fields. Such an opportunity is hardly possible for urban people who suffer pollutant dust, exhaust fumes, and all kinds of noises. “The green leaves that embrace the tiny drops of water after a light rain remind me of the cleanliness, order, and purity of the world," says the artist. This implies something deeper. To understand the implications, it is necessary to read between the lines. The dewdrops are shattered and evaporate in the morning sun, leaving their splendid glory behind. Considering that the dewdrops stay for a short time of just a couple of hours, the glory of the dewdrops is ephemeral. Perhaps they attract our fancy precisely because of how fleeting they are. The same can be said of the short-lived splendor of a flower. The beauty that seems to be eternal soon comes to a moment of farewell.

We ride the treadmill, vigorously stamp our feet upon it, and attempt to go faster and faster. But we can never move from the place we are at. No matter how hard you run, it is hard to escape from the given route, and you make no headway. Unexpectedly, however, Lee Youngsoo’s painting goes beyond the fixed routine and awakens in us a longing for an innocent world. Her work clearly shows such implications of art. This is what she felt when she saw the dewdrops, and it is the story she would like to share with the audience. Flower paintings also evoke similar feelings. The flowers collectively look up to the sky and wait for something to happen. The long stretches of flower stems suggest their eagerness. Each holding a star in their core, they seem to be waiting and longing for a day of joy and excitement. I imagine that the countless flowers that she has yet to paint share in this sentiment. “I hope those who see my work will also feel that which is beautiful, neat, and innocent, and hope that our society will one day be the same.” This remark gives a good glimpse into her intentions.

Unlike the excitement caused by certain stimuli, her work takes us into the world of purity and innocence. In front of us unfolds a landscape that is both rational and fantastic, real and surreal, natural and supernatural at the same time. Either way, we need not feel nervous or afraid of either side. To be sure, it is up to each of those who see her work to remove the mask and face the reality. . .

Seo Seongrok

(Professor, Department of Fine Art,

Andong National University)

Transition from the ‘Third Area’ to Full-scale Hyperrealist Painting

Jin Sup Yoon (Art critic)

Ⅰ.

Young Soo Lee, who has mainly painted bright water droplets formed on poppy flowers or blades of grass, now showcases a new style to the public with ginkgo leaves dyed yellow. An accomplished artist with 30 exhibitions behind her, her exhibition at Sun Gallery this time will show the new way she approaches objects, changing the perspective she has held so far.

In fact, it is a great psychological burden for any artist to give up the subject matters that have become familiar to her or him over the long period of career and attempt to explore a new subject. The reason is that, like a patent for an invention, the development of a new subject matter becomes the artist’s brand and hence a factor that enhance the reputation of the artist. Because of this, many artists are devoted to the exploration of a unique subject matter, and make a great deal of effort to make their work known to the world. It is similar to a poet gaining high popularity with just one piece of poem.

Young Soo Lee is an artist who mainly paints flowers and grass. In other words, nature, which gives us a warm feeling, is her subject. As a child, she grew up surrounded by innumerable flowers in bloom in the large garden of her home, and perhaps due to this, her aesthetic sense was formed quite early. Her love for nature was formed and artistic inspiration sprang up naturally in such an environment. She is not simply a landscape painter who paints a landscape that catches the eye. This is what makes her different from the landscape painter in the ordinary sense.

Ⅱ.

Young Soo Lee's landscape paintings are based on specific objects that have been filtered through by her aesthetic sense. It is so-called ‘choice and concentration’. Hence, if we enumerate the subject matters of her works that she has delved into for a long period of time, there are lotus flowers, poppy flowers, unripe barley, hydrangea, leaves of grass, fallen leaves, ginkgo leaves, etc. She has explored them at different times up to the present.

Another salient feature to mention is the method of close-up. To be sure, this is not a very precise representation as seen in the camera’s shooting technique, but the technique of depicting the object to be emphasized in large detail is one of the general characteristics of her work. For example, she often resorts to this method when depicting bright water droplets on a blade of grass.

What does this attitude really mean? It is a kind of ‘keeping distance objectively’. It is related to observing an object while restraining the emotional approach as much as possible, and transferring the observation to the canvas from a cool-headed viewpoint. Hence, some of her works featuring water droplets (Natural Image I & II, 130 x 70cm, oil on canvas, 2017, 2018) are reminiscent of photography. This aspect is particularly prominent in the coloring technique, in the elaborate and detailed depiction of clear and transparent water droplets that project surrounding objects such as blades of grass, as well as in the background boldly rendered with monochrome shades of green and blue. In other words, the simple rendering of the background to emphasize a close object (water droplet) reminds us of similar photographic effects. While a single water drop on a large blade of grass overwhelmingly attracts the viewer’s attention, the surrounding green is slightly blurred in a monochromatic tone. This is the factor that differentiate this painting from other Hyperrealist works. By doing so, Young Soo Lee places her style in the ‘third area’, which is neither an idyllic landscape nor a Hyperrealistic picture in the ordinary sense. While the main object is portrayed in a large and detailed way, the background is handled in a monochromatic gradation (blurring step by step). This is different from the way the normal human eye sees an object. Therefore, this pictorial technique that the artist frequently uses reveals the perception of the eyes looking at objects, and the attraction and repulsion, that is, the antagonistic relationship formed between the objects.

The work entitled Natural Image I represents about 10 large water drops hanging from a tree trunk and about 20 small water drops on it. As mentioned earlier, the background is a little blurry and dark as a whole in a monochrome green. While working on this piece, the artist particularly focused on the depiction of the brightly shining large water drops. The reason is that the surrounding landscape reflected in each water drop is depicted differently and very realistically from slightly different angles. In order to enhance the objective effect of the landscape created by such large and small water droplets, she came to deliberately simplify the background. The result is exquisite, using Hyperrealistic techniques, but creating a ‘third area’ rather than Hyperrealism. This area exists between the emotional and lyrical feelings of ordinary landscape paintings and the stark and objective effects of Hyperrealism. And depending on the subject of drawing, the emotional effect and the cool-headed psychological effect alternate with each other. For example, the piece depicting a wide field consisting of poppy flowers belongs to the former, while the work depicting water droplets on the blade of grass belongs to the latter.

Ⅲ.

Young Soo Lee’s new works at this exhibition include those on ginkgo leaves, fallen leaves wet with rain, green leaves, and the aforementioned water droplets formed on plant branches. Overall, they are not completely Hyperrealistic, but there are traces of attempts to objectively portray objects from a detached standpoint. In particular, the large-scale piece of ginkgo leaves, like other works, is a work of enthusiasm, showing complete immersion in the object.

Most of the works displayed at this invitational are drawn by a bird’s-eye view from above. This shows a change of perspective from that of Lee’s past works. As the artist drew pictures of objects looked down from above and fixed them on the wall, the audience sees it horizontally. Here, we come across an interesting phenomenon. If we assume that a child or primitive man, who is ignorant of the pictorial convention of fixing paintings on the wall, sees this painting, he may wonder, ‘Why do those leaves not fall to the ground and stick to the wall?’ In that sense, Young Soo Lee's paintings reveal an ontological paradox that derives between image and object. In other words, viewers who are familiar with the existing pictorial customs do not think that fallen leaves or ginkgo leaves are hanging on the wall while seeing Lee’s paintings, but instead, they mistake them as piled up on the road and are reminiscent of the mood of autumn.

From an emotional point of view, Young Soo Lee's paintings that represent the scenes of the ground where fallen leaves of various colors and shapes are entangled with elaborate and precise brushstrokes are much more emotional than those that portray ginkgo leaves. It is because of the rain. This painting depicts the surface texture of the glistening fallen leaves smeared by drizzling rain with superb brushwork. In general, it is a very arduous task to produce a wet effect with oil paints. It is even more difficult to depict vividly the surface texture of small and large water droplets spreading over the leaves in various forms, as well as water standing still or flowing shallowly along the curved ridges of fallen leaves. These paintings, which cause the illusion of seeing real scenes, are works that are close to the essence of Hyperrealism, and their detached objectivity evokes a feeling of melancholy, reminiscent of the autumn rain falling down plaintively.

Ⅳ.

As we have discussed, Young Soo Lee’s paintings for this exhibition show very different aspects from her previous works. What is the change, specifically? The most noticeable is the change in viewpoint. The transfer from a horizontal point of view to a vertical point of view, the world of the bird’s-eye view, corresponds the image of the object with the surface of the canvas, resulting in an all-over canvas effect, which is the core of Modernist painting. Conventionally, the term ‘all-overness’ has often been applied to abstract trends such as Abstract Expressionism, Color Field Painting, or Minimal Art. However, in the case of Lee's paintings, although they are Hyperrealistic with forms to represent, they are certainly a new attempt that is distinct from the previous ones in the sense that the artist arranged the objects all over the canvas with a clear intention.

The next thing to look at is the change in the water droplet painting. Unlike previous works, the new water droplet paintings showcased this time more precisely and clearly express the presence of blades of grass reflected on the surface of the water droplets, while the outline of the blades of grass in the background is blurred with brushstrokes that seem clumsy. This attempt shows the intention to remove the photographic feeling that was observed in the background of Lee’s works in the past. In other words, it is intended to emphasize pictoriality, and this pictorial element is expected to deepen in her future works along with the pursuit of all-overness. In particular, the representation of water droplets that act as convex mirrors that fully capture the surrounding landscape, is more detailed and denser than her previous works, revealing the existence of objects more clearly.

In other words, the deep interest in the presence of objects along with the all-overness of painting is a concept that will guide Young Soo Lee’s work in the future, and we look forward to seeing how her enthusiasm for this will be projected in her future work.

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