MEMENTO MORI Suhn Lee:
Land Acknowlegdement.
It is important that the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery prioritize respect for both the historic culture and the contemporary presence of indigenous peoples throughout California, and especially in the Los Angeles area. To that end, and particularly as a public and civic institution, we acknowledge that our gallery resides on what was historically the homeland of Kizh, Tongva, and Chumash peoples who were dispossessed of their land.
If you would like to learn more about the land you are on please visit: https://native-land.ca.
Introduction.
Memento Mori marks the first institutional exhibition by the Los Angeles based artist Suhn Lee whose practice synthesizes ceramics and textiles. Drawn to the meditative and processdriven nature of these materials, Lee’s sculptures externalize the psychological experiences of anxiety, perfectionism, and grief. Informed by her Korean American heritage, the artist presents a series of sculptures that she describes as “creatures”: small to medium-sized ceramics armored with beadwork, sequins, and fabric. Their abstracted, geometric forms are inspired by ten symbols of longevity and prosperity derived from various Asian cultures, like turtles, clouds, and mushrooms.
Lee’s repetition-driven practice of stitching and adhering or shaping and firing clay becomes a process akin to a physical mantra of transmuting pain whose effects cultivate reverence for the mundane. “Remember you must die,” the dialectical expression behind the latin phrase that titles this exhibition mirrors Lee’s artistic practice of indexing life’s challenges as relics or tokens akin to evidence of a life well lived.
Memento Mori
Credit.
Suhn Lee: Memento Mori is curated by arts associate, Samantha Alexis Manuel with LAMAG curator, Hugo Cervantes.
Images
All images courtesy of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. Photo Credit: Monica Nouwens.
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Design and Layout
Courtesy of arts associate, Samantha Alexis Manuel
Printing
Courtesy of City of Los Angeles, General Services Department: Publishing
Special Thanks from Samantha Alexis Manuel
Suhn Lee for your artistic talent, wit, and collaborative spirit.
Art Manager, David Novoa who led the install of this exhibition and allowed me to apprentice with him.
LAMAG Curator, Hugo Cervantes for your mentorship and guidance through the development of the show. Thank you for believing in me.
And last but not least, the entire LAMAG team and leadership celebrated on the last page of this publication.
The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
A Conversation with Artist Suhn Lee on Eliminating Psychological Time.
Amid a period of career dissatisfaction, Suhn Lee turned to the pensive and process-driven qualities of ceramics to externalize professional burn out. After years of working in fashion merchandising and corporate licensing, Lee deepened her engagement of materials like clay and textiles opening a new arena of artistic expression and personal catharsis. In this conversation between LAMAG arts associate, Samantha Alexis Manuel and artist Suhn Lee, the two discuss processing grief, its non-linear nature, and the armor we fashion ourselves with to overcome it.
What initially sparked your curiosity in working with clay and what was the first thing you ever made?
Suhn Lee: I was unhappy and unfilled with my career choices so I started taking different art classes at Barnsdall Art Center (BAC). I tried watercolor and jewelry making, but they didn’t resonate with me.
Memento Mori
Then I touched clay and it was game over. I’ve been addicted ever since. The first thing I made was a pinch pot. The first thing I made that I was genuinely, exceptionally proud of was a sculpture of a deer.
How about your interest in using animal motifs and what they mean to you?
The animal motif first came up in my work when I was looking into the “Ten Symbols of Longevity” in Korean culture. Deer, cranes and turtles are three of them. I gravitate towards more abstract and geometric forms, but found the familiarity of these motifs compelling. I started combining the abstract forms with figurative representations and I really like the idea of something being simultaneously familiar and unknowable.
Can you share about your experience in submitting work for the Open Call show at LAMAG back in October 2023?
I remember seeing the post for the Open Call on social media and sending it to a friend. We decided to go together and use the time standing in line as an opportunity to hang out. I actually didn’t know there was a prize for the show, which I find really strange because I’m the type that reads all the fine print. I was in Mexico for a wedding when I got the news. I had just received a rejection from another open call and was feeling kinda lousy about myself, so it was really encouraging to see that I’d gotten an even better opportunity. You’ve had different
lifepaths– an attorney, fashion merchandiser, and artist.
What challenges did you overcome to be who you are today?
The biggest challenge I’ve faced is myself. I am my own worst enemy and probably the biggest obstacle standing in the way of achieving whatever it is I want to achieve. I get in my head and analyze, and then over analyze which were actually great attributes for law and merchandising, but not so much for making or teaching art. I also lost my Dad right before I made the pivot to pursuing art. He was the one that always pulled me out of my head. He was my soulmate. That loss, that grief…it still haunts me and it makes me so sad that he didn’t get to see me find my true calling and will never see anything that I create.
Memento Mori
Can you tell me about your work in the show and why you are drawn to the concepts of death, life, and grief?
Earlier this year, I participated in my first residency at Haystack School and my first night there, my dog, Zero, died. I’d always wanted to explore the themes of death and grief since losing my Dad, so this new loss felt like a command. I feel like Zero really directed my time at Haystack. I started reading The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker which I had packed, but most likely would never have opened if not for his passing. This became a central basis for the show.
Death to me is really about life. Like the creatures I’m currently making, it’s familiar but unknowable. It’s the universal unifier. When’s the last time you really sat and thought about the fact that one day, you will no longer be here? Isn’t that why we’re so
struck with shock and grief when it happens? There’s uncertainty when it comes to death—it can happen at any moment. Our entire life is ruled by this uncertainty. It’s grim, horrifying, and that’s why in order to go about our daily lives, we have to be in denial of it. According to Becker, we believe we can transcend death by achieving something of lasting worth in our career, relationships, and family. We participate in a “hero system” where our personalities serve as our “character armor.” I was thinking a lot about the different kinds of armor and shields we use in our lives to protect ourselves and how fashion is one of the central ways we express our personalities. Whether we want to or not, we’re sending certain messages with the clothes we use to adorn our bodies.
In terms of the techniques and materials I used for the show, I really wanted to experiment and incorporate different media I’ve been wanting to try. The connective tissue through all my work
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is repetition. Sitting with the loss of my Dad and dog kept cracking me open again and again. Working on the pieces for the show served as my refuge in those times. A lot of the pieces in the show are a manifestation of my heartbreak. Each bead or feather is imbued with my grief as I stitch or adhere it one by one until finally something of beauty is created.
What draws you
to using couture techniques like sequencing and using textiles?
What do you gain from them?
I thought I was over fashion. I was comfortably living in my sweatsuit era, but it’s been luring me back. I have a deep appreciation for craft—for the visual pleasure I get from well crafted things and the knowledge of the time that it takes to achieve that level of mastery. People think fashion is frivolous and a gown that costs six figures can be
considered excessive if not outright reckless. But, when I started researching haute couture, I learned that there are less than 20 “true haute couture houses.” There’s a regulatory commission that oversees them and criteria that have to be met. The concept of “savoir-faire” which literally means “knowing how to do” just hit me. Everything is made by hand. The number of hours that go into making a single article of clothing… if you’ve ever tried hand beading an elaborate design you know the time, patience and pain it takes.
“Time” is at the core of my practice… I’m investing my time (clock time) in an effort to eliminate psychological time. As I’ve said, I’m in my head a lot. I’m a time traveler there—rehashing and regretting the past, anticipating and worrying about the future. And this endless preoccupation with the past and future prevents me from aligning myself with the present moment. So these techniques I use in my work, the main one being repetition, is a physical mantra for me.
The act of doing “one by one” is my meditation, my mindfulness practice, and my therapy—a way of soothing my neuroses and my entry point into being here, now.
A defining feature of your practice is how you intentionally prioritize the process itself over the resulting work–a departure from our obsession with productivity, output, and the tiresome impulse to be in control. How do you know when
a project/ work is done?
Sometimes it’s very clear cut when a work is done. I’ll make a form, cover that form in a specific material, and when
it’s fully adorned, it’s done. But most of the time, I don’t have a specific end result in mind. I have a vague idea, but, more often than not, things will shift. I wasn’t formally trained in art or design, so everything I do is by instinct.
Since I’m my own worst critic, there are times when I will just hate something I’ve been working on for months. I have to walk away and let it sit for a few days, sometimes weeks. I’m a pretty emotional person so I know my mood can often affect my response to my work, but I am getting better at letting go and letting be even when a finished work doesn’t sit exactly right with me. Sitting with that discomfort, that’s the real work…with my art and with life.
What principles, philosophies, or cultural values guide your artistic practice and ultimately, life?
I’m a Dzogchen practitioner which is a Tibetan school of Buddhism. The principles that guide my life are awareness and emptiness. To be acutely aware in the here and now and to not get caught up in the ego and its games.
Unfortunately, I’m a highly emotional/reactive person so most of the time, it’s a losing battle. I was raised to hinge my self worth on external achievements, so there’s a lot of deprogramming I’m trying to do. There’s a quote by Eckhart Tolle in A New Earth that I’m really trying to live by these days: “If you are content with being nobody in particular, content not to stand out, you align yourself with the power of the universe.”
What did this solo project mean to you?
This solo project is very meaningful for me on so many levels. I’ve been dragging my feet for years trying to get more of my work shown. Because I don’t have a formal
art education, I had to figure out how this whole new world worked on my own. Breaking into the gallery scene is extremely difficult and it can be discouraging seeing everyone else getting all these opportunities on your feed daily. Being able to develop an entire body of work to show has been a dream come true. I feel so incredibly lucky to work with you and Hugo who I instantly connected with and have supported me through the entire process. LAMAG is such a great institution with a rich history in LA. It’s extra special to me that my first ever show is here at Barnsdall because this is where I first touched clay. It really feels like a full circle moment and I hope it’s just the beginning of greater things to come.
Suhn Recommends:
On Death/Grieving
Denial of Death , Ernest Becker
The Year of Magical Thinking , Joan Didion
The Beauty of What Remains , Steve Leder
Crying in H Mart , Michelle Zauner
The Death of Ivan Ilych , Leo Tolstoy
A Happy Death , Albert Camus
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (series) , Toshikazu
Kawaguchi
Mind & Spirit
A New Earth , Eckhart Tolle
Bhagavad Gita , Hindu Scripture
Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising , Rob Burbea
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind , Shunryu Suzuki
The Art of Stillness , Pico Iyer
The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness, Ichiro Kishimi
Resilience , Rick Hanson
Figuring , Maria Popova
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance , Angela Duckworth
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success , Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D
Fiction, Fun (by author)
Haruki Murakami
Sally Rooney
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Ishiguro Kazuo
Gabrielle Zevin
Hwang Sok-Yong
Shin Kyung-Sook
Kang Han
Brandon Taylor
Tana French
Donna Tartt
Karin Slaughter
Stephen King
Robert Galbraith
Richard Osman
Podcasts
Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Rick Hanson
Huberman Lab
Revisionist History
Sound & Vision
On Being with Krista Tippet
Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia
S-Town
Gallery Map + Checklist.
15. Emily , Ceramic, goose feathers, and beads, 2024
16. Peter , Ceramic, 2024
17. Ivan , Ceramic, paper, and nail polish, 2024
18. tactical opportunism as pious morality , Ceramic, glaze, 2024
19. basic space of phenomena , Faux leather on canvas, 2024
20. [leopard beaded shield] , Beads on cotton, 2024
21. [denim patchwork shield] , Denim on canvas, 2024
22. sitting with suffering , Beads on cotton, 2024
23. portal into the unmanifested , Sequins on cotton, 2024
24. false cheer bordering on mania , Beads on satin, 2024
25. A Tiny Replaceable Cog , Silk, cotton thread, and beads on canvas, 2024
26. silence without, stillness within , Beads on cotton, 2024
27. peace is the space between your thoughts , Satin ribbon on canvas, 2024
28. uncertain walls , Porcelain, 2024
1. Bone Deep Resilience , Stoneware, 2023
2. For Zero, Ceramic , handmade paper, and fur, 2024 3. Let be, let go, let in , Stoneware, 2021
4. Carrie , Ceramic, satin, and lace, 2024
5. The Thing with Feathers , Ceramic, goose feathers, 2024
6. Thomas , Ceramic, glaze, and chain, 2024
7. Forever Young , Ceramic, glaze, 2023
8. Samsara 31921 (listless) , Porcelain, chain with beads, 2021
9. Take What You Want and Pay For It , Ceramic, 2023
10. Dripping in Grief , Ceramic, glaze, beads, and fiber, 2023
11. An Empty Shell of Me , Ceramic, beads, and polished stones, 2024
12. Bursting With Grief , Ceramic, fiber, 2021
13. Don’t Let Yearning Turn Into Regret , Ceramic, glass beads, 2021 14. In Sickness and In Wealth , Ceramic, glaze, and goose feathers, 2024
Suhn Lee is a Los Angeles based artist with a focus in ceramics and textiles. Her work is heavily influenced by her Korean American upbringing and explores her culture’s obsession with image and overachievement. At the core of her practice is a psychological examination of time, anxiety, and self worth in conjunction with a reverence for the present moment. The slow nature of her work is, in part, an act of silent rebellion against society’s preoccupation with productivity, efficiency, and status.
She received a B.A. in Communications from UC San Diego and graduated Cum Laude from Southwestern Law School. She has a legal background in Intellectual Property licensing and experience in Fashion Buying and Merchandising. She has participated in Clay LA at Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, recently exhibited at Space Ten Gallery, Hawthorne; LH Horton Jr Gallery, Stockton; and completed residencies at the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine.
Suhn Lee currently teaches at Otis College of Art and Design.
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery
Lisa Davis, Community Arts Director
Carla Fantozzi, Art Center Director III, Barnsdall Art Park
Hugo Cervantes, Art Curator
Nancy Meyer, Art Curator
John Weston, Exhibit Preparator
Michael Phillips, Gallery Attendant
Miriam Banda, Administrative Clerk/Office Manager
David Novoa, Arts Manager
Marta Feinstein, Art Instructor/Education Coordinator
Samantha Alexis Manuel, Arts Associate
Jennifer Payan, Arts Associate
Graham Akins, Exhibit Preparator
Belle DuVall, Exhibit Preparator
Randy Kiefer, Exhibit Preparator
Aman Puri, Exhibit Preparator
Zachary Pescador, DAP Apprentice
Dara Adedara, Gallery Attendant
Erik Flores, Gallery Attendant
Veronica Lechuga, Gallery Attendant
Jereme Lua, Gallery Attendant
Rene Miranda, Gallery Attendant
Xiana Posada, Gallery Attendant
Nneka Samuel, Gallery Attendant
Thanos Valentine, Gallery Attendant
Suhn Lee: Memento Mori
March 6 to May 18, 2025
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