"Life is like a quilt, so is my art."
Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1976.
Lee earned her initial BFA and MFA degrees in Seoul, South Korea. Later, she embarked on a passionate journey to study across the ocean at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, where she earned her second MFA.
Her education and experience from the different environments in both East and West greatly impacted her art and her life in various ways, and she tries to introduce her aesthetic value across cultures. She currently resides in Waxhaw, NC, with her husband and four children.
Lee’s artistic Journey evolved by working with various mediums, including Metal, Clay, and reclaimed materials.
She spreads small units on the panel/wall in a rhythmical variation to complete her wall sculptures.
In her recent body of work, she found various materials sourced from her daily life, such as glass bottles, sauce jars, and electrical cords. Combining these elements with clay pieces, she builds a composition of small individual units that culminate in a unified whole on the wall, like a quilt. Through her art, Lee tries to tell us the power of ordinary things when they come together and how they can become part of something greater and support each other as a unit in a whole.
One of her works, “A Way Coming Back,” is about the returning beauty of reclaimed materials in her kitchen while she finds a second chance of the material, just like she rebooted herself as an artist after a long parenting break.
The Billboards of “A Way Coming Back” were traveling around the world, starting in Charlotte, across the US, and even Seoul, South Korea, in digital and printed vinyl forms as a part of ArtPop Street Gallery‘s mission to showcase art to the public space in the whole year of 2023.
Experience Artist In Residence @ Nine Eighteen Nine Gallery, (2024~ )
Project Coordinator – “The Hands Project” (2024~ )
Voted The Best Sculptor 2024 BEST In The NEST, Queen City NERVE, November 2024
ArtPop Street Gallery City Program Class of 2023 (Charlotte, NC) 2023
Founder/ Director @ Hands on Well, (2023~ )
Jeweler @ Richard & West (Rochester, NY) 2004-2005
Artist Assistant @ Leonard Urso Studio ( Rochester, NY) 2003-2004
Teaching Assistant @ Rochester Institute of Technology 2003
Member Artist @ Gallery ARTINUS (Seoul, Korea) 2000-2002
Member Artist @Gallery Jong-No (Seoul, Korea) 1999-2000
Teaching Assistant @ Konkuk University (Seoul, Korea) 1999-2001
Sample Designer/Maker @ Jewelry NEED (Seoul, Korea) 1999-2002
Education Gemological Institute of America with G.D — 2010
Gemological Institute of America with A.J.P — 2009
Gemological Institute of America with G.P — 2008
Master of Fine Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology.
: School of American Craft (Rochester, NY, U.S.A)— 2005
Master of Fine Arts, KonKuk University : Metal Craft & Jewelry (Seoul, Korea) — 2001
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Konkuk University: Metal Craft (Seoul, Korea) — 1999
Thesis Coexisting, Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY) — 2005
People —Study of Metal Expression and Technique, Konkuk University (Seoul, South Korea) — 2001
Media Coverage / Press Art In The QC –“Sculpting Memories with Lee Ko” by Alexandra Smith, March 2, 2025
WBTV QC Life – “Celebrating Charlotte’s Creativity Through Art” Jan. 24, 2025
ArtPop Street Gallery Class of 2023, Candace Mattingly, The Mill Magazine #14 — 2023
The Art of Craft, Richard Huntington, Buffalo News Oct 15, 2005
Western New York Collection, Cindy Sherman, Buffalo State College News — 2004
Solo Exhibitions
“r e : B l o o m – Metal Figure Study” @ Nine Eighteen Nine Gallery at VAPA Center (Charlotte, NC) — 6/22/2024~7/25/2024
r e : B l o o m – Lee Ko Solo Exhibition @ The Artisan’s Palate (Charlotte, NC) — 1/5/2024~2/1/2024
“Coexisting” Lee’s Metal Art @ Bevier Gallery (Rochester, NY, USA) — 2004
“Dancing People-Lee’s Metal Art” @ GANA Art Space (Seoul, South Korea) — 2001
Selected Group Exhibitions 2025 GCA Spring Show@ Mint Museum (Charlotte, NC) — 4/23/25~5/26/25
“Sovereign: Honoring Bodily Autonomy @ McColl Center (Charlotte, NC) — 3/6/2025~4/12/2025
“2024 Winter Show-An Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary NC Artists @ GreenHill Center for NC Arts (Greensboro, NC) — 12/11/24~2/15/25
Global Art Project – Crossing Borders @ Nine Eighteen Nine Gallery (Charlotte, NC) — 11/16/24~1/4/25
The Journey Exhibit – Charlotte International Art Festival @ The Knight Theater & SouthPark Brewing (Charlotte, NC) — 2024
“Expression of Hope” @ The Center of Hope (Charlotte, NC) — 2024
International Art Show @ Union County Community Art Council (Monroe, NC) — 2024
ArtFields 2024 @ The R.O.B. (Lake City, SC) — 2024
“Hope is Here” @ MPUMC Art Gallery (Charlotte, NC) — 2024
Charlotte Shout! Easter Egg Parade @ The Green (Charlotte, NC) 2024
“FREE for ALL -Spring” @ Hart Witzen Gallery (Charlotte, NC) — 2024
Atrium Health Art Show @ Carolina Medical Center Art Gallery (Charlotte, NC) — Nov. 2023~Jan. 2024
ArtPop Street Gallery: Billboards/Digital Display Show, US nationwide & Jam Sil, Myeong-Dong, Seoul (U.S.A & South Korea) — 2023
Charlotte International Art Festival: The Journey -Art Exhibit @ Founders Hall (Charlotte, NC) — 2023
ArtPop Street Gallery: 2023 ARTISTS Exhibit @ The Fanjoy Labrenz Studio (Hickory, NC) — 2023
“FREE for ALL -Fall” @ Hart Witzen Gallery (Charlotte, NC) — 2023
ArtPop Street Gallery: 10th Anniversary Exhibition @ Cain Center for the Arts (Cornelius, NC) — 2023
Keeping Charlotte Beautiful @ Charlotte Art League (Charlotte, NC) — 2023
45th Annual SpringFest @ Mooresville Arts Gallery (Mooresville, NC) — 2023
“FREE for ALL -Spring” @ Hart Witzen Gallery (Charlotte, NC) — 2023
“The Welcome Table” @ The Gallery at Morning Star (Matthews, NC) — 2023
ArtFields 2022 @ Trax Visual Art Center (Lake City, SC) — 2022
“UNLEARNING” Art Exhibit @Studio229 (Charlotte, NC) — 2021
INTERSECTION Art Exhibit “METAMORPHOSE” @ Gallery C3 ALCHEMY (Charlotte, NC) — 2021
INTERSECTION Art Exhibit @ Gallery C3 ALCHEMY (Charlotte, NC) — 2020
INTERSECTION Art Exhibit @ Gallery ALCHEMY (Charlotte, NC) — 2019
Green Earth Art Exhibit @ Gallery Bing (Seoul, Korea) — 2011
The 3rd Group of Metalsmith @ multiple locations (Seoul, Korea) — 1999-2011
Dance+Metal-Artists’ Tool Story @ Gallery I (Seoul, Korea) — 2006
The Korean Metalsmith @ Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (Fukuoka, Japan) — 2005
Cheongju International Craft Biennale : Adventure of Craft in the 21th Century (Cheongju, Korea) — 2005
Inspired by Light @ Gallery r (Rochester, NY) — 2004
Emerging Artists @ Society for Contemporary Craft (Pittsburgh, PA) — 2004
A Wishing Gift Show @ KOEX (Seoul, Korea) — 2000
Thanks+Giving Show @ INSA Art Center (Seoul, Korea) — 2000
Korea Contemporary Jewelry Show @ Gana Art Space & ILMIN Museum
(Seoul, Korea) — 1999~ 2001
Korea Modern Art Show @ KIDP (Seoul, Korea) — 1998-1999
31+1, Lover’s Gift Show @ Gallery Fine (Seoul, Korea) — 1999
