At the heart of Lee’s practice lies an exploration of connection—to her family, to her heritage, and to the rich cultural tapestry of Korea. Through her work, she delves into the rituals and customs that shape the everyday lives of Koreans, creating an intricate web that ties her personal journey to the collective memory of her culture.

Lee reimagines and re-contextualizes these traditions within the framework of contemporary life, using her own lived experience as both a lens and a catalyst. This ongoing process is both meditative and ritualistic, a form of visual prayer that speaks to the act of remembrance, reconciliation, and rediscovery. Each piece is a quiet reflection, a delicate act of transformation, wherein time-honored practices are infused with new energy and meaning.

Her work transcends the boundaries that typically separate writing, drawing, and installation, blending these elements into a seamless expression of thought and feeling. Through a deft interplay of line, texture, colour, and medium, Lee breathes life into the raw emotions found within her personal childhood memories, which serve as the foundation for this body of work. It is within the intimate world of her personal archive that Lee’s practice takes shape—creating a visual language that draws from memory, cultural history, and personal reflection, inviting the viewer to engage with the layers of meaning embedded in her work.

Recently, Hyun Hee Lee was the winner of the Artist in Residency Prize for 2025 in the Sunshine Coast National Art prize.

Rhianna Melhem
Curator

Artist Biography

Hyun Hee Lee is a Korean/Australian artist whose work traverses the traditional Korean and Western art practices. She is part of the Asian diaspora, coming to Australia from Korea she experienced feelings of cultural and emotional displacement. These commonly encountered feelings encourage her to investigate ways to connect to the culture that shaped her life before migrating to Australia. Through her art she aims to establish a spiritual and cultural connection with her country of birth, this has been the driving force that has sustained and developed her art practice.

Hyun Hee Lee has a bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) from the National Art School. She was awarded the Bird Holcomb Foundation Honours Fine Art Scholarship in 2010. She completed a Master of Fine Arts (Research) from the University of New South Wales Art and Design in 2015.

She has been awarded many residencies including a Red Gate Residency in Beijing, China 2012 and the Onslow/Storrier La cite International des Arts Paris Residency from the National Art School in 2013, also she was awarded a COFA travelling Grant from UNSW.

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Hyun Hee was the winner of the John Coburn Emerging Artist Award, under the auspices of the Blake Prize in 2012. She received the acquisition award in JADA 2014 and was awarded 2^nd prize in KAAF 2016. Her works have been selected for numerous National Art Awards and Prizes including HIDDEN Rookwood sculptures, Dobell Drawing, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize, Fishers Ghost Art Award and Sunshine Coast Art Prize. She has been selected in the City of Sydney Banner Gallery Design for the Lunar New Year Festival 2022 and 2023. Recently, she was the winner of the Artist in Residency Prize for 2025 in the Sunshine Coast National Art prize.

She has extended her exhibiting internationally with Shinsegae gallery in 2023 and 2024. She was invited to show along-side international artists of the ilk of Nam June Paik in the prestigious public Exhibition (Korean Diaspora-Ricepaper Airplane) by Incheon Art Platform in Commemoration of the 120^th Anniversary of Korean Emigration in 2022 in South Korea.

Hyun Hee has had many solo exhibitions including Gosford Regional Gallery, AD Space UNSW and Artereal Gallery in Sydney and Kara’s Gallery in Seoul.