JungHee Lee-Marles is a mixed media artist residing in Ottawa. She was born in Seoul, South Korea. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts Education degree (major in oil painting, minor in sculpture) and worked as an art teacher. Later, she moved to Chicago, where she obtained her Master of Arts degree. In 1988 she immigrated to Canada. Since then, she has lived in Hull QC, Brandon MB, and Sevenoaks, England, and has travelled in Europe and across Canada and the U.S.

While living in Manitoba, she was an active member of the art community for 10 years, working as an art instructor and gallery assistant at the Art gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, as artist-in-residence at several local schools, and served the Manitoba Arts Council as a juror. In 1997, she was mentored by renowned Canadian artist, Wanda Koop, through the Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art Advisory Program. A recipient of Manitoba Government art grants, JungHee had many solo exhibitions and participated in numerous juried group exhibitions, receiving several awards.

Living in Ottawa since 2003, she has been awarded five solo exhibitions through the City of Ottawa Community Galleries Program. Also, she has received exhibition grants from the Ontario Arts Council for a solo exhibition at the Rotunda Gallery in Kitchener, Ontario, and for a group show at the Colorida Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal. She has participated in many other juried group exhibitions in the Ottawa region, Toronto, and New York City, and received several awards. Her works are held in the Government of Manitoba Art Collection, Kang Won University Art Collection (South Korea), and in private collections across Canada, the United States and overseas.

While she continues creating and exhibiting her artworks through solo and group shows, she is also actively participating and volunteering as a member of boards and committees for numerous local art groups. She is a member of CARFAC, Ontario Society of Artists, Ottawa Arts Council, Arts Network Ottawa, Foyer Gallery, and Ottawa Mixed Media Artists.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

JungHee’s artistic inspiration comes from history, cultures, and landscapes. All the places she has lived and visited have been a tremendous learning experience for her as an artist: the different ways people live and socialize, the different types of landscapes, and the different styles of art through which people express themselves.

JungHee's artwork often reflects her deep fascination with both Mother Nature and Human Nature, so the combination of these subject matters is often expressed in her artwork. She enjoys portraying both the physical essence and the emotional content of the two worlds, highlighting the contrast between apparent peace and tranquility on one side and evident chaos and disturbance on the other. These physical and emotional conflicts, portrayed in her art, also reflect her personal struggle as an immigrant woman influenced by the impact of Western influence on my Oriental traditions. Her artwork references traditional Korean motifs, yet her focus on abstraction and the richness of colour and texture is rooted firmly in Western culture.

To emphasize her perceptions of harmony and discord, colours, lines, and textures play very important roles in her art. Colours always bring out the mood—the raw emotions that she feels deeply based on what she sees, what she hears, and what she reads. Lines help her to visualize the movement of physical and emotional energies that she perceives. Textures bring her into focus on the connection between the physical world and her emotional world.

Much of her effort is invested in the abstract aspects of her artwork because for her it is important to focus on expressing the inner emotions rather than representing in any realistic way the more obvious outer physical form. Trying to interpret and express each moment of profound and heartfelt understanding when physical worlds and emotional forces come together is the fundamental goal of her art.