We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ailyn Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ailyn below.

Ailyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I came to the United States from South Korea as an international student during ninth grade. That was when I experienced insomnia and anxiety for the first time, which caused a lot of frustration and turmoil. I began drawing primarily to relieve those feelings, without other specific purposes or direction at that time. But looking back, this experience ultimately led me to attend art school. During my BFA and MFA programs at the School of Visual Arts, I had the opportunity to explore a wide range of mediums including woodcut, ceramics, painting, installation, 3D printing, video and even performance art. These experiences have been crucial in my artistic practice, allowing me to become more interdisciplinary and solidifying my desire to pursue an artistic path professionally.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a visual artist based in New York. I use found objects, wooden furniture, and stone clay as my main mediums. Over the past few years, I have been creating works depicting theatrical and surreal scenes from my imagination.

I spent much of my childhood in my grandmother’s antique shop in Busan, South Korea. The store was full of old furniture, mysterious objects, and figurative sculptures by my mother. It was my sanctuary and playground, where I imagined dreamlike scenes, played hide-and-seek, and staged theatrical plays using the old furniture and objects that my grandmother had collected. I myself now collect found objects and furniture from the different places I visit. I mark the date I bring them home, as if I’ve adopted them. By combining them, I create new forms and stories, giving them a new memory and purpose.

When traveling or visiting a new place, I enjoy exploring nearby antique shops because I immediately envision the type of work I want to create upon seeing certain objects in such shops. I love everything about objects found in antique shops. I prefer items with wood grain and frayed edges over those that are overly polished and pristine. I find comfort in the distinct scent of wood and dust carried by old items. Disassembling, painting, and adding clay to create new forms excite me. Some items even bear labels indicating when and where they were found. They spark my imagination and make me wonder about their previous owners and the stories they hold.

Piles of old and used items also evoke the imagery of a theater backstage to me. I have always enjoyed watching stage performances and found inspiration from them. The concept of creating an entirely new world on a stage and projecting it through the invisible fourth wall is fascinating to me. I also enjoy observing how the stage and the props are used as the story unfolds. I remember feeling a mysterious sensation in the empty prop room and backstage area when I took theater classes in high school. It felt like catching a serendipitous glimpse of a world that only opens up during certain times.

Recently, I have collected some intriguing items—a matchbox with a mermaid illustration, a mother-of-pearl lacquered drawer, a faucet with a bird-shaped spigot, and micro-sized tarot cards. I am excited to see how they transform during my artist residency at Kunstraum in Brooklyn, New York.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn was focusing solely on the artwork itself without considering the installation process. I have a sculpture built to lean its head against a wall at just the right angle so that its eyes appear a certain way. When I made that work, I had only considered the angles and dimensions of my studio space because I thought, “a wall is a wall – how different would it be elsewhere?” But when it arrived at the gallery space, it was unexpectedly difficult to install the work as intended because the dimensions of the space differed ever so slightly from those of my studio. To address this, I revised the work so that the head can be detached and placed at various angles. This experience taught me the importance of planning for installation during the creation process.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Bringing my ideas and emotions into physical form, and expressing my inner self, is incredibly fulfilling and enlightening. Each time I create new work, I learn new things throughout the creative process. Additionally, seeing others connect with my work in their own unique ways brings immense joy. This transcends mere creation, offering deep satisfaction through the connections made with people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ailynlee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ailynlee_/

Image Credits

Images provided by artist