ARTIST STATEMENT
Where Light Becomes Memory
Jennifer Lee’s paintings explore how light preserves, transforms, and reveals memory. Through visible and ultraviolet layers, each work invites viewers to discover unseen dimensions of perception and presence.
Where Longing Blooms, 2026
Oil and UV-reactive pigment on canvas
Visible & UV Views
Artist Statement
[The Language of Light and Memory]
Everything that exists leaves a trace. My practice begins with the belief that light carries those traces, preserving fragments of memory, emotion, and presence beyond what can be immediately seen.
My work has developed through two parallel paths: figuration and abstraction. Flowers, landscapes, and living forms become vessels for memory, while my abstract works explore light, color, time, fragmentation, and entropy. Though these languages differ, they are connected by the same question: what remains when a moment, a memory, or a presence disappears from sight?
Recently, I have begun to bring these two paths together through my Crystal Flower series. Moving beyond the boundaries between figuration and abstraction, I seek to preserve traces of memory, emotion, and existence within crystalline fragments and structures of light. Crystal Flower has become a point of convergence where my long-standing explorations of figuration and abstraction, light and memory, and the visible and invisible meet within a single visual language.
UV-reactive pigments extend this inquiry beyond visible perception. Under ordinary light, a painting presents one reality; under ultraviolet light, hidden forms and colors emerge. These shifting states suggest that reality is not singular or fixed, but shaped by the conditions through which we perceive it.
Memory, too, is continuously transformed, fragmented, and reconstructed by time. Through fractured surfaces, crystalline structures, and layers of color, I explore how traces of love, loss, and longing persist even after their original forms have disappeared.
Ultimately, my work seeks to make the invisible perceptible, creating a space where memory persists, perception remains open, and what has disappeared may still leave a trace.
Light as Memory
Light is not merely illumination, but a vessel that carries memory, emotion, and presence.
Beyond Visibility
Under ultraviolet light, hidden layers emerge, revealing a second visual reality that extends beyond ordinary perception.
Creative Process
From Inner Vision to Transformation
My creative process begins with a deep inner resonance, often taking shape through sketches, though some works emerge directly on the canvas without any preliminary drawing. For the past several years, rather than reproducing what I observe, I have been giving form to images first envisioned within my mind, allowing them to evolve intuitively through the act of painting.
I initially began using UV-reactive pigments to expand the possibilities of color. Unexpectedly, ultraviolet light revealed forms and relationships that I had never consciously intended. These accidental transformations have become an important part of my work, opening a space beyond my own intention. Rather than defining their meaning, I leave these hidden narratives open to the perception and interpretation of the viewer.
Inside the Studio
Creative Practice
Creation Method
Each painting begins with an inner resonance, often taking shape as an image envisioned in my mind. Sometimes it develops through preliminary sketches, while at other times it emerges directly on the canvas without a predetermined form. Through an intuitive process of painting, color, form, and memory gradually interact, evolve, and transform, allowing the work to find its own visual language as it unfolds.
Artistic Technique
I combine traditional oil painting with UV-reactive pigments, using light as an active element within the work. I initially introduced UV pigments to expand the possibilities of color, but under ultraviolet light, unexpected forms and relationships began to emerge. These transformations allow a single painting to exist in two visual states, revealing possibilities beyond my original intention.
Artistic Vision
I explore light as a medium through which memory, perception, and traces of existence can be revealed. In the visible state, I express my artistic intention through the work and its accompanying artist’s notes. Under UV light, however, I leave the transformed imagery entirely open to the viewer. The forms and narratives that emerge there are not defined by my intention, but belong to each viewer’s perception and interpretation. Through this coexistence of the intended and the unexpected, the visible and the invisible, I seek to create a space where memory persists and multiple realities can emerge.
Selected Highlights
Selected recognition, publications, and exhibitions that reflect the international presentation of Jennifer Lee's work.
Explore Jennifer Lee's Artistic Practice
Discover a body of work that explores the relationship between light, memory, and perception through oil painting and UV-reactive pigments. From visible images to hidden realities, each painting invites a deeper encounter with what lies beyond ordinary vision.