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₩1,400,000
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Art protects art
8 out of 10
artists are shut out by banks
354
loans extended to fellow artists
95%
repayment rate — trust comes full circle
~KRW 140M
interest saved vs. predatory rates
Until the next exhibition, the next performance. For artists, income gaps are an unavoidable reality. For fellow artists forced into predatory loans just to afford paint, canvas, and studio rent, proceeds from this artwork become the Seed Fund — extending a fair hand at fair rates.
Voices of fellow artists
“The memory of going hungry for three days, alone, so my children wouldn't know.”
— 50s, theater artist
“I've been putting off urgent dental treatment because I can't afford it. I should be seeing a doctor regularly, but enduring instead of going has become a habit.”
— 50s, actor
“I kept delaying ear treatment because I had no money, and the symptoms in both ears worsened.”
— 30s, musician
“I couldn't pay my hospitalized mother's bills, so we had to delay her discharge, and she had to give up tests and treatment she needed.”
— 50s, actor/broadcaster
“Because of money troubles I had nowhere to go — drifting between gosiwon rooms and rehearsal studios, and for a while sleeping rough.”
— 30s, musician
“Because of unpaid rent, my collective was forced to vacate our shared workspace and home. Neither bank loans nor artist loans could help.”
— 50s, actor
“Without money, life collapses — and creating art? Out of the question.”
— 50s, artist
“It's painful that solving this month's money problems has to come before the work itself. As an artist, I can only earn well when the work succeeds — yet I have to chase odd jobs every month instead. It feels like being trapped in a vicious cycle.”
— 40s, musician
“Debt collection calls disrupted my rehearsals and performances, and the psychological burden made every day painful and the next day frightening.”
— 40s, theater artist
“Many times the loan payments looming each month forced me to step away from performing and focus on part-time work.”
— 50s, actor
“Sleeping less than four hours a night, juggling part-time jobs and theater — but the more I performed, the more debt piled up. Eventually I decided to quit performing.”
— 30s, actor
“When things were hardest, I couldn't even attend close friends' weddings or funerals — and as a result, relationships were severed.”
— 50s, actor/broadcaster
“When I said I was a stage actor, the loan officer called me "unemployed."”
— 50s, actor
“The shame and severed friendships that came with borrowing from people I knew, the pressure of failing to pay it back, the helplessness.”
— 50s, cartoonist/visual artist
“Even with programs meant for low-income citizens, I feel shame when I can't produce enough documentation simply because I'm an artist.”
— 30s, film/broadcasting professional
101 artworks sold, each becoming a seed of solidarity
One artwork becomes the oxygen that keeps a fellow artist creating.
Sales proceeds go to the artist mutual-aid fund.
Hollowed yellow 04
Lee Jieun
About the Artist
Lee Jieun is an artist who traverses the boundary between sculpture and painting, exploring the possibilities of abstract form and color. Born in 1984, she completed her B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Sculpture at Kookmin University before studying for nine semesters at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen and earning her Diploma and Meisterschüler at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Class of Prof. Franka Hörnschemeyer) in 2017. She has held numerous solo exhibitions across Korea and Germany, including 〈Hollowed Colors〉 (Art Space Et, 2025), 〈structure〉 (Quittenbaum Galerie, Munich, 2023), and 〈reversed〉 (Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, 2019). She received the Hochschulpreis Grand Prize at Hochschule für Künste Bremen (2011) and the DAAD Matching Fund Scholarship (2015).
Artist Statement
Doing or done Machen oder gemacht Doing, or having done As if grinding a chisel against a whetstone, I dip the brush, adjusting the right amount of paint and water. This step matters. If there is too little paint, the circle becomes parched; too much water and the paint runs. But every color has its own consistency. As one decides where to carve into a wooden plank, I choose a starting point on the canvas. I used to draw a grid before starting; I no longer do. There may come a time when I need it again. As if pressing a chisel into wood to scoop the surface like a leaf, I keep the brush at a 90-degree angle to the canvas and turn it carefully in a circle. At the same time my arm moves downward along a 45-degree angle to the right. Just as a final, fine adjustment of force is needed at the end of a chisel stroke, I stop the brush's motion and gently push the paint outward from the brush. As needed, I turn the brush at the closing point a few times more. As if lifting the chisel lightly off the wood's surface, I lift the brush with a snap in the same direction I have been turning. As one would set the chisel back down beside a freshly cut mark, I prepare to set the brush back down right beside the circle I have just drawn.
Key Career Highlights
1984 Born in Korea 2017 Diploma, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Meisterschüler, Class of Prof. Franka Hörnschemeyer 2015 9 semesters completed, Hochschule für Künste Bremen, Fine Arts 2009 M.F.A., Sculpture, Kookmin University 2007 B.F.A., Sculpture, Kookmin University Solo Exhibitions (05.2026 Title TBD, CICA Museum, Gimpo, Korea) 11.2025 <Hollowed Colors>, Art Space Et, Seoul, Korea 06.2023 <art-hoc solo exhibition>, duesseldorf-art, Düsseldorf, Germany 02.2023 <structure>, Quittenbaum Galerie, Munich, Germany 09.2019 <reversed>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 11.2015 <Studies for between spaces>, Alternative Space Noon, Suwon, Korea 07.05.2014 <One night stand>, Alternative Space Immigration Office, Bremen, Germany 06.2009 <Boundary of skin>, Art Space Hyun, Seoul, Korea Group Exhibitions (Selected) 11.2025 <Grand Art Exhibition of Korea Modern Art Awards>, Gallery B, Seoul, Korea 10.2025 <Shin Saimdang Art Competition>, Gangneung Culture Center, Gangneung, Korea 08.2025 <E-Land Cultural Foundation 16th Exhibition Competition>, Dapsimni Art Lab, Seoul, Korea 07.2025 <13-Person Emerging Artist Exhibition>, Mill Studio, Seoul, Korea 04.2024 <From Abstract To Nature>, Quittenbaum Galerie, Munich, Germany 02.2024 <Es kommt nicht auf die Größe an>, Galerie Lachenmann-Art, Frankfurt, Germany 01.2024 <Achromatic>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 07.2023 <Studio 84>, Galerie Lachenmann Art, Constance, Germany 06.2023 <Trialogue-Aspects of Abstraction>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 04.2023 <Female Perspectives>, Galerie Lachenmann Art, Frankfurt, Germany 11.2021 <Luxembourg Art Week>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 01.2021 <Sculptural. Painting>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 05.2020 <Carte Blanche>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 01.2020 <MNMSLM 2>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 09.2018 <Sinngefüge>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 06.2018 <augenfällig/fresh positions>, BBK Art Association, Düsseldorf, Germany 01.2018 <Juxtaposition>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 11.2017 <unbunt-achromatic>, Biesenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany 10.2017 <Arbeitstitel-Akademie>, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany 04.2017 <EAF-50 Contemporary Artists>, Enter Art Foundation, Multipolster Store, Berlin, Germany 02.2017 <Die Grosse>, Cooperation Class Hörnschemeyer, Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany 12.2015 <LOT-Lack of Transmission>, Detro_it, Toronto (US, CA) 10.2014 <Landgänge>, Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst Bremen, Germany 07.2013 <High On Visual Art>, Hutchins Gallery, Brooklyn (US) 07.2013 <12 plus 9 Frühe Netzwerke>, Bremen City Gallery, Germany and others Scholarships 2015 DAAD Matching Fund Scholarship, Bremen, Germany Awards 2025 Selection, Grand Art Exhibition of Korea Modern Art Awards, Seoul 2025 Selection, Shin Saimdang Art Competition, Gangneung 2017 Nominee, Blooom Award 2017 by Warsteiner, Germany 2016 Nominee, Zucker Art Collection, Budapest, Hungary 2014 Grand Prize, Poster Concept Pathfinder Award, Kookmin University, Seoul 2011 Grand Prize, Hochschulpreis, Hochschule für Künste Bremen, Germany
Magazine
Between Seoul and Düsseldorf, Emptying Color: Lee Jieun's Hollowed Colors
Lee Jieun paints like a sculptor carves — hollowing color. Bremen MFA, Düsseldorf Kunstakademie Meisterschüler. *Hollowed blue*, *Hollowed yellow*.
2026-04-20 · Seed Art Festival
SAF Painters — From Korean Painting to Abstraction
The 40+ painters of SAF 2026, read across six lineages — from Reality and Utterance founders to KAIST-trained painters, Brussels sculpture MFAs, and Goryeo-Buddhist-painting masters.
2026-04-20 · Seed Art Festival
Contemporary Art Pricing — Artist, Medium, Size, Date: 4 Factors of Korean Art Market
“Is this price fair?” The question every buyer asks. To answer it you need to understand the four forces that set art prices: artist, medium, size, and date.
2026-05-02 · Seed Art FestivalOther works by Lee Jieun
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Recently Sold
101 artworks sold recently
Two beginnings made by one piece
- For you —
- One-of-a-kind in the world
- For the artist —
- the next month of their practice
- For a fellow artist —
- a new ₩3,000,000 path of low-interest support
354 artists have walked this path of recovery; 95% returned to open it for the next.