Yoo Jung Ellie Choi

Exploring interiors and interiority, Yoo Jung Ellie Choi (b. 1994 in Busan, KR) creates evocative domestic spaces populated by pensive figures absorbed in solitude. Her meticulous brushwork and smooth surfaces enhance the ethereal atmosphere that pervades her compositions. Doors, windows, and stairs serve as interstitial spaces through which surreal elements infiltrate Choi’s rational modern interiors. Although staring out of windows or at digital devices, her protagonists remain secluded from the outside world, their faces concealed from the viewer. Instead of connecting indoor and outdoor spaces, Choi utilizes architectural openings as portals to her figures’ interiority. Playing with spatiality and perspective, she creates intricate paths for the viewer’s eye to wander, and transforms each domestic setting into an inner room of one’s own. Choi had her solo debut in 2021 with the exhibition A Lone Return at 175 Gallery in Seoul. In addition, she has participated in dual exhibitions at Seongbuk Young Art Space, Seoul (2023) and Gallery IS, Seoul (2016). Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Seongbuk Young Art Space, Seoul (2023); Hapjungjigu, Seoul (2022); BGA Maru, Seoul (2021); Art Delight Gallery, Seoul (2019); Dongsomun, Seoul (2019); and Woods-Gerry House, Providence (2018), among others.