LOY Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to present All That Blossoms, All That Passes; Surreal Land, a new solo exhibition by a Korean-born, US-based artist Young Lee. Through immersive surrealist landscapes and emotionally charged symbolism, Lee explores impermanence, memory, and the fleeting nature of human experience.
 

Young Lee creates mesmerizing visual meditations that capture the fleeting wonder of impermanence. Her work serves as an intimate record of a life lived in motion, rooted in the philosophy of letting go and staying anchored in the present. In Lee’s surreal worlds, everyday objects dissolve into powerful metaphors; melting clocks trace the soft erosion of time, while vibrant, oversized blooms radiate the temporary richness of existence. Influenced by surrealist sensibilities, her compositions balance reality and imagination, inviting the viewer into immersive spaces that feel quietly uncanny. Through fluid organic forms and deep, saturated color, Lee transforms the canvas into a sanctuary—a place where time slows down, and the ephemeral is granted a moment of eternal stillness.

 

Within this solo exhibition, familiar objects such as clocks, flowers, and domestic forms appear transformed within dreamlike environments. Clocks symbolize the relentless passage of time and humanity’s inability to hold onto it, while flowers embody transient beauty and the intensity of fleeting joy.
 

Drawing from lived experience and shifting environments, she explores time, perception, and impermanence through a meditative lens, in tune with the fleeting intensity of present moments. Her compositions unfold as psychological landscapes, reflecting the quiet equilibrium of contemporary existence. Lee’s latest body of work is full of wonder, of real beauty and quiet fantasy, where the boundaries of reality dissolve and the mundane becomes magical. Each painting functions as a visual meditation on change, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on the delicate tension between internal awareness and external perception.
 

Rather than resisting impermanence, All That Blossoms, All That Passes; Surreal Land seeks to honor it — slowing fleeting moments down, amplifying their emotional resonance, and offering space for contemplation within an increasingly transient world.

          ‘My art explores the ephemeral nature of  existence — how moments, emotions, and even identity are in constant flux. This perspective has been profoundly shaped by my experiences of travel, where moving through unfamiliar spaces becomes a metaphor for life itself: teaching you to let go, adapt, and remain present with what is, rather than clinging to what was or anticipating what might be. Letting go is not merely an emotional act; it manifests visually, spatially, and sensorially, reflecting the ever-changing flow of life.’

 Young Lee