Yun Hee Lee, “La Divina Commedia” ceramic collection (2013)

“Art Projects Gallery, in partnership with Festive Korea 2015, is delighted to present La Divina Commedia featuring award winning Korean ceramic artist Lee Yun Hee’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong. Based in Seoul, contemporary ceramic artist Lee is known for her highly imaginative and exquisite hand-made ceramic sculptures that intertwine European literature and objects with Asian sensibilities.

“The inspirations for Lee’s art comes from one of the greatest works of world literature, the Divine Comedy, a 14th-century poem by Italian Dante Alighieri.

“While the original poem describes Dante’s travels through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, Lee casts a young girl as the main character in her works, a heroine who defies all odds to overcome the many trials and tribulations of life.

“The stories of this journey of self-discovery and themes of strength and hope are portrayed in Lee’s sculptural compositions that feature a rich assemblage of European architectural forms and objects inspired by the setting of the poem’s rich cultural backdrop from 14th-century Europe. Lee imbues her sculptures with her own cultural identity and contemporary re-interpretations of the literature in three-dimensional splendor embellished with highly intricate details, colors and patterns.”    –Central Academy of Fine Arts, October 15, 2015

Below is the text of our previous post on Lee’s work, from an description of the show that is no longer available online:

“Lee Yun Hee weaves Eastern and Western influences to offer a contemporary re-interpretation of both aesthetic and literary traditions, constructing a fantasy world that speaks of hope, strength and determination.

“Young ceramic artist Lee Yun Hee (b. 1986, South Korea) majored in Ceramics at both BFA and MFA levels at Seoul’s Hong Ik University. Lee calls herself a collector. What she collects are everyday stories of the common people, about their desires and wants, their fears and anxiety, and ultimately ‘the cure’ they seek to overcome the challenges and difficulties of life. There is much that she can relate to during her collections, for she is after all also human. Yet, it is not the hardships she clings to, but those ‘cures’ that each person resorts to.”

“Lee created her latest series entitled ‘La Divina Commedia‘ in 2013. Her inspiration came from Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy), the renowned 14th century epic poem by Italian poet and writer Dante Alighieri. The literary work recounts Dante’s travels through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. In Lee’s contemporary take, the heroine of the story is a young girl who runs against all odds to overcome the trials and tribulations of life.”    —Art Radar, August 11, 2015

To view more of Lee’s work, including some more recent iterations of La Divina Commedia, click here. You can read the artist’s biography at Art Projects Gallery.

Contributed by Anita Verna Crofts