Lydia Lee: From Choreographer of Lines to Architect of Planes

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This review by art historian Kwon Young-jin covers Lydia Lee’s works from 2015 to 2018 and was published in 2018.

At the turn of the 20th century, traditional painting, which had long dominated the art world, faced its proclaimed demise as photography, video, and media art took center stage in contemporary art. Yet, the act of composing a canvas through form and color remains a foundational visual language that other mediums continue to reference. Despite technological advances, painting retains its unique ability to explore form, color, and texture, maintaining its relevance as a primary medium in visual arts.

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Lydia Lee’s work reflects this ongoing evolution in painting. She has transitioned from being a “choreographer of lines”—where her dynamic brushstrokes captured rhythmic, musical sensibilities—to an “architect of planes”—constructing spatial depth through layered geometric shapes. Her early works featured still lifes and everyday scenes expressed through bold, rhythmic lines and overlapping colors. These pieces conveyed energy and emotion, focusing less on realistic depiction and more on transforming visual impressions into abstract elements on the canvas.

Since the mid-2010s, Lee has shifted from using traditional brushes and paints to working with pastels and knives. This transition reflects her movement from expressive lines to geometric planes. Her recent works depict modern spaces such as stock markets, concert halls, and bustling cities, translating their dynamic atmospheres into structured compositions of overlapping color fields. These geometric shapes create shallow visual depth on the canvas, reminiscent of architectural construction in the physical world, yet realized within the two-dimensional space of painting.

Her approach aligns with that of Impressionist painters who sought to capture light and movement. However, Lee’s recent works demonstrate a more refined, structured aesthetic, suggesting her continuous exploration of painting’s essence. Her layered compositions evoke the visual rhythm and interaction of colors and forms, creating a vibrant, dynamic spatial experience.

Ultimately, Lee’s work poses a fundamental question about the nature of painting: What can be achieved on a canvas? Her practice suggests that the constructed world on the canvas can be more engaging and thought-provoking than the physical world itself. Through her varied formal experiments, Lee invites viewers to experience the interplay of color, form, and rhythm, emphasizing that the process of painting remains an open field for endless discovery.

Her artistic journey is not a mere repetition of early 20th-century Western avant-garde movements but a unique exploration of visual language, grounded in her personal vision and artistic inquiry.