# Suwon Lee

Suwon Lee (born 1977) is a Korean-Venezuelan artist based in Madrid, Spain.

## Biography

Suwon Lee was born in 1977 to Korean parents in Caracas, Venezuela. She migrated from Venezuela in 2016 and often uses space and belonging as a theme in her photographs. In 2008, she won a grant awarded by Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFOs) in Miami, and later that year, she . In this same year, she was included in her first solo show at Periférico Caracas. In the Younger than Jesus Artist Directory (2009), a directory of emerging artists throughout the world, Suwon Lee was the only Venezuelan selected by an international jury to be in the book. In 2005, Suwon Lee and artist Luis Romero co-founded the alternative contemporary art space Oficina#1, located in Caracas. For her work with Oficnia#1, she was nominated and won the International Young Visual Arts Entrepreneur award from the British Council of Venezuela in 2008. Oficina#1 closed in 2016.

## Education

Suwon Lee earned her BA in French studies at the American University of Paris in 2001. From 2001 to 2002, she studied photography at Speos Paris Photographic Institute. In 2006, she took the PHotoESPAÑA Masterclass with German photographer Axel Hütte. Alongside her Bachelor's Degree and Masterclass, she worked with Nelson Garrido in his photography workshop in Caracas, Venezuela.

## Artworks

Suwon Lee primarily works in photography focusing on landscapes and cityscapes. Her images attempt to show a relationship between physical body and the natural world by emphasizing space, time, and light. More recently, she has worked in nude self-portraits are to show herself as the foreigner and the multicultural identity that she has lived with, being born in Venezuela and coming from Korean parents.

## Exhibitions

Selected Solo Shows :
| Title | Organization | Location | Date |
| Landscapes & Self-Portraits. Female Voices of Latin America. | Vortic.art | Online Platform | April 4 - May 1, 2021 |
| Mukthi Room” Solo Projects curated by Jesús Fuenmayor. | Pinta Miami | Miami, US | 2015 |
| Heima | Espacio Al Borde | Maracaibo, Venezuela | 2013 |
| The benign indifference | Galería Fernando Pradilla | Madrid, Spain | 2012 |
| Bling! Bling! | Galpón 1 | Caracas, Venezuela | 2008 |
Selected Group shows :
| Title | Organization | Location | Date |
| Futures Photography 2021 | PHotoESPAÑA Circulo de Bellas Artes | Madrid, Spain | 2021 |
| Guangzhou Image Triennial 2021: Intermingling Flux. Curated by Gerardo Mosquera | Guangdong Museum of Art | Guangzhou, China | 2021 |
| Encuentros en tiempo presente | Centro de Arte Alcobendas | Madrid, Spain | 2020 |
| Portadores de sentido. Arte contemporáneo de la Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros | Museo Amparo | Puebla, Mexico | 2019 |
| Under Construction: Latin America Narratives in the CIFO Collection | Casa Fugaz | Callao, Peru | 2019 |
| Soul Mining: The influence of Asian culture and labor in Latin America | Vincent Price Art Museum | Los Angeles, California, US | 2018 |
| Soul Mining: The influence of Asian culture and labor in Latin America | Arizona State University Art Museum | Tempe, Arizona, US | 2017 |
| América Latina 1963-2013 | Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain | Paris, France | 2013 |
| 9ª Bienal do Mercosul: Weather Permitting. Curated by Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy | Fundação Bienal de Artes Visuais do Mercosul | Porto Alegre, Brazil | 2013 |
| Voyage Voyage | Maison de l’Amérique Latine | Paris, France | 2012 |
| Once Tipos | Sala Mendoza | Caracas, Venezuela | 2011 |
| I Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo ULA 2010 | Universidad de Los Andes | Mérida, Venezuela | 2010 |
| Shifting Constructs. CIFO Grants & Commissions Program | Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation | Miami, US | 2009 |
| XII Salón Jóvenes con FIA | Corp Banca | Caracas, Venezuela | 2009 |
| Belong Here | Centro Cultural de España | Santiago, Chile | 2008 |
| Reflect/Refract | Rich Gallery | London, United Kingdom | 2008 |
| El Futuro es ahora | Fototeca de Veracruz y CASA-Oaxaca | Veracruz, Mexico | 2007 |
| Café con Leche: Cultura, Migración, Identidad | Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas | Caracas, Venezuela | 2006 |
| VII Salón CANTV Jóvenes con FIA | Ateneo de Caracas | Caracas, Venezuela | 2004 |
| VI Salón Pirelli de Jóvenes Artistas | Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas | Caracas, Venezuela | 2003 |
| Contra>Sentido: Nueva Fotografía Venezolana | Sala Mendoza | Caracas, Venezuela | 2003 |

## Collections

Her artwork is held in major metropolitan museums including MoMA New York, Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, CIFO Miami, and Museu de Arte Brasileira da Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado.

## Honors and awards

* 2011 – Young Artist Prize from the Venezuela Association of Fine Artists
* 2010 – Emerging Artist Award 2009 from the International Association of Art Critics, Venezuelan Chapter.
* 2008 - Recipient of the Grants and Commissions Program awarded by Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) in Miami.
* 2008 - Recipient of the International Young Visual Arts Entrepreneur Award by the British Council.