In Seoul-based painter Sujin Lee's new solo show at Saatchi Yates in London, there is space. The room is sparse, the paintings graphic and anime-like. The characters look hold hands, embrace, or stand shoulder to shoulder, tightly tucking themselves onto the canvases as if the large sparse gallery experience is too empty to consider without the nurturing of a friend. That was the experience I had when I walked into the gallery; there is something almost lonely and longing in these friendships, as if nostalgia is being depicted.
The gallery speaks of the environment of Lee's home city in Seoul and where she grew up in the more rural Jeju Island, Korea, famous for its rich landscapes. There is a push and pull between cosmopolitan and nature settings here as well, and again, the density and sparseness of the gallery really presents these dichotomies well. There is also a sense of camaraderie, friends together, growing together. I still get the sense that amidst the backdrop of the pandemic that made South Korea almost closed off the world, there are moments here where Lee wants to really focus on touch, what it means to hold your friends, your family, what it means to return to nature and how our urbanity is at times creating a longing for space. Both the work and gallery present the feelings aptly. —Evan Pricco
