June Lee

June Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to the U.S at the aged of 18. She received a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Fiber. After graduation she moved back to Korea to work and teach in Seoul, and ended up participating in many shows and residency programs all over the world.

“My work focuses on the individual in the contemporary society today. I explore the neutrality and duality of the individual as a distinct unity and again as a constituent of the collective society. In particular, I shed light on the social phenomena surrounding the individual in contemporary social space, especially on negative conditions such as the bystander effect, mass psychology, scapegoating, and biases. Using a traditional East Asian material; the thread, as a symbol for human life, I form human figure-like works, and attempt to present the problems of the modern individual from the perspective of a third party.”

AWARDS: 2020 Award of Excellence FIBER. 2018 Helene Wurlitzer Foundation Fellow. 2018 Scythia 12th International Textile Art Biennial, First place (Big Silver Medal). 2018 Ragdale Foundation Fellowship. 2017 32th Tallahasse International Juried Exhibition 2nd Place. 2016 One of 3 winners, Con/corso Buenos Aires 8th Competition. 2016 Virginia Creative Center for Art Fellow. 2016 Fiber International 2016, Second Place. 2016 Virginia Creative Center for Art, Fellow. 2013 8th Cheong ju International Craft Biennale, Honorable Mention Award of Jury. 2013 View Point 2013, Montclair Studio Honorable Mention Award of Jury. 2013 15th Annual All Media Exhibition, Upstream People Gallery, Award of Excellence. 2012 3rd Place of New Fiber. 2012 Fiber Philadelphia In Memory of Judith Altman Second Place. 2012 Korean Art Show, Selected Emerging Artist. 2011 First Place of Detroit Artist Market. Cranbrook Academy of Arts Annual Scholarship Awards.

COLLECTIONS: 2016 Pier2 Art Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 2011 The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

ART LOAN 2012-2013 Mercedes-Benz Cranbrook Art Selection for 2012-2013 Exhibition at MBFS in Farmington Hills, MI, US. 2011-2012 Mercedes-Benz Cranbrook Art Selection for 2011-2012 Exhibition at MBFS in Farmington Hills, MI, US.

COMISSION 2018 Nike. 2017 Louis Quatorze Handbag. 2015 Samsung, Audio 360 Collaboration. 2014 Simone Hand Bag, Seoul, South Korea.