Threading memories

SADAH Director MiKyoung Lee reflects on the past 15 years of her practice with 20 artworks in a solo exhibition at Princeton University's Art Museum

by Cameryn Norris ('22)

James Madison University

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Thread Drawing, 2017. MiKyoung Lee, born 1970, Geoje, South Korea; active Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Harrisonburg, Virginia; Stitch on paper.

MiKyoung Lee started as director of the School of Art, Design, and Art History at James Madison University in 2022, since then marking several milestones. After having her work acquired by the Jupiter Museum of Art in Shenzhen, China, and curating the 2023 International Fibers Festival in Seoul, South Korea, she added a solo exhibition at Princeton University Art Museum’s gallery to her list of accomplishments.

Threading Memories / MiKyoung Lee was on view from Oct. 21, 2023, through Jan. 7, 2024, at Art@Bainbridge. Several events accompanied the exhibition, including an artist talk and workshop.

Displaying 20 works in the invited solo show, Lee expresses influences from her career in textiles and addresses various themes, from nature to consumerism to relationships. “My work represents and manifests abstract natural and organic imagery through forms and processes. From stitching to unraveling sewing threads to knotting, my approach involves traditional textile methods that reflect my interest in domesticity and family ties. Teaching textile art for over 20 years, I have been incredibly inspired and influenced by textiles’ repetitive, delicate, and honest technology,” shared Lee in her artist statement.

Bubble, 2016. MiKyoung Lee, born 1970, Geoje, South Korea; Twist ties and pipe cleaners.

Lee’s work comes with several mentions in national media outlets. Artnet, an art market website, published an interview with Lee just after her Princeton exhibition opened. In the Nov. 7 article, Collector’s Guide Features Editor Katie White interviews Lee in her home studio, giving an insider’s look at her process and plans. Read more here: In Her Home Studio, Soft-Sculpture Artist MiKyoung Lee Gives Form to Twist Ties, Pipe Cleaners, and Thread.

Hyperallergic, an online arts magazine, published “The Familiar and Familial in MiKyoung Lee’s Art,” a review of her Princeton exhibition. Writer Julie Schneider creates an immersive experience, and readers feel they are in the gallery surrounded by Lee’s work.