Art Exhibits

I’m interested in visualizing universal feelings that people feel while living in a foreign country, such as otherness, longing, nostalgia, pleasure, and struggle, based on my personal experiences.

More specifically, I visualize the merging of intangible memories with a tangible body through which I form my identity. I express how my memory is woven with various sensory information and emotions through the use of the material of thread. It is a metaphor of how finding one memory leads to other memories, just like finding the end of a thread leads to other connected threads. Thread, symbolizing intangible memory, merges with the physicality of paint, which represents my body. This is an expression of how my memory is embedded with my body, which possesses the history of my experience. Throughout my work, I’m comforted by the fact that, even though we are physically apart, my family back home and I are connected.

I got my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. I am a recipient of the Helen E. Platt Blake Scholarship, the Merit Award, and the Art Coop Award. My work has been exhibited at the Krannert Art Museum, GAIA Gallery in Los Angeles, Prairie Center of the Arts in Peoria, Busey Wealth Management headquarters, and 40 Point One, among others. I have been an artist-in residence at the Prairie Center of the Arts.

– Jihee Lee

Check out Jihee Lee resume for more information. >>

Here is a price list for all items for sale in this show. >>

Growing up in Wyoming has given me a connection to the landscape that surrounds me. As an adult, I have moved through Colorado, Washington, Minnesota, Louisiana and Illinois while playing music in various bands. My body and mind react differently to my geographic location. The open spaces of Wyoming differ greatly to the open spaces of Illinois. The cities and the rural places, the mountains and the great plains, the water in the oceans and swamps of this country have all influenced me and my art.

When working in the style of nonrepresentational abstraction, I am intrigued by the idea of creating something truly autonomous. When writing a song, the songwriter has an emotionally invested interest in the song, which goes out into the ethos and no longer belongs to the songwriter but to the person listening. The listener then attaches their own emotions to the song—stripping the songwriter of the burden of ownership.

To be able to create anything that gives light to others is the goal of all art. Painting, like songwriting, can be a selfish act. But if I can remove myself during the creative process and make it a selfless act, the product created is given the power to become itself. In removing myself, this leaves the emotional response in the hands of the viewer.

– Matthew Jobe Thornton

Check out Matthew Jobe Thornton resume for more information >>

Here is a price list for all items for sale in this show. >>