Keunmin Lee’s new series of oil paintings unfolds tormented cartographies. Networks of nervous lines meander across organic shapes, charting circuitous routes that read as intricate maps of the mind. The thirteen paintings on display hover between figuration and abstraction, depicting biomorphic forms that resemble zoomed-in fragments of bodies, organs, veins, or skin. Juxtaposing light and darkness, Lee works with rich palettes dominated by warm hues that are interspersed with icy blues. Varying shades of red saturate the exhibition. An allusion to blood, they serve as metaphorical markers that distinguish the outside world from inner ones. Despite their literal titles, the paintings elude rational grasp, emphasizing instead a raw physicality that shifts back and forth between meticulous brushwork and expressive mark making. As scratches, imprints, and fierce brushstrokes activate the surface of Encounter in the Mountains (2023) for instance, figuration dissolves, leaving behind visceral traces of inner struggles made both visible and tangible.
