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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
94 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.
Sanctuary of Prayer
Lee Yuji
Authenticity
One-of-a-kind original
About the Artist
Lee Yuji is a painter who unfolds the landscapes of deep inner consciousness and the sentiments of longing through painting. After graduating from the Department of Western Painting at Suwon University, she completed her M.A. at Kookmin University. Her many solo exhibitions include 〈Where Wishes Linger and Rise Again〉 at Art Boda Gallery (2025), 〈Karma Dice〉 at Seoun Gallery in Ganghwa's Jeondeungsa Temple (2025), 〈Party of Wishes〉 at The Squares Gallery (2024), and 〈Landscape of the Abyss〉 at Sai Art Document (2017). She received the Excellence Award at the 〈Artist of Tomorrow〉 competition by the Gyeomjae Jeong Seon Museum of Art (2024). Her works are held in the collections of the Gyeomjae Jeong Seon Museum of Art, the Seoul Culture Headquarters Museum, and the Hana Bank Art Bank.
Artist Statement
My work speaks of landscapes of refuge. The Sanctuary of Yearning series carries the feelings of recollection, hope, and purification. I see yearning (念願) as a latent energy, a primal force that draws toward the moment of healing, and I explore that force in the language of painting. I have named the journey of accumulating good karma and reaching liberation through the power of yearning "Karmadise." The wishes within the heart linger in the sanctuary of yearning, are purified there, and once again move toward the light. I bring the time of recovery into painting, and as one passes through that place and returns to life, one gains a new breath. I express a space of protection in which one can quietly catch one's breath between unsteady, wavering feelings and the wishes one longs to reach. The repeating forms and the rhythm of flowing lines visualize the faint vibration of hope within inner chaos, and I call this a "shamanic sanctuary." This goes beyond simple expression — it carries a sacred force that liberates the inner self and revives vitality. The motifs in the work are made up of metaphorical symbols of healing. Tangled threads appear as healing threads stitching up the wounds born from memories of my late father, and the layered brushwork represents accumulated memory and the process of practice. Drawing on Didier Anzieu's concept of the "psychic envelope (Psychic Envelope)," I tried to embody an inner protective skin that wraps around like our outer skin. My work, where skeins of thread combine with shamanic symbols, makes visible the power held in the form of belief, and the canvas is transformed into a refined sacred object that filters out negative energies. Using oil paint and fluorescent pigments, I stage a visual paradise that glows under light, painting ideal worlds such as "Sanctuary of Yearning," "Guardian Tree," and "Lucid Dream." For me, art is a single ray of light in a dark world, and life itself. As a landscape of the unconscious and a space of protection, I pray that it may quiet anxious states of mind and that everyone may meet a moment in which they can breathe.
Key Career Highlights
Solo Exhibitions 2025 <Where Wishes Linger and Rise Again>, Lee Yuji Invitational Solo Exhibition, Art Boda Gallery, Seoul 2025 <Karma Dice>, Ganghwa Jeondeungsa Museoljeon Seoun Gallery Competition Selected, Seoun Gallery, Incheon 2024 <Party of Wishes>, Lee Yuji Invitational Solo Exhibition, The Squares Gallery, Seoul 2024 <Dreamer's Paradise>, Eunpyeong Cultural Foundation Sai Competition Selected, Eunpyeong Cultural Foundation, Seoul 2017 <Landscape of the Abyss>, Sai Art Document Competition Selected, Sai Art Document, Seoul Group Exhibitions 2026 <Anew Beyond: Like Starting Again>, Samwon Gallery, Seoul 2025 <Sumunjang Art Fair 2>, Suwon Cultural Foundation, 111CM, Suwon 2025 Roha Gallery Group Small Works, Seoul 2025 Inspired Fair SETEC, Seoul 2025 <Exploring Life> Yungyeom & Lee Yuji 2-Person Exhibition, GG2 Gallery, Seoul 2025 BANK Art Fair, SETEC, Seoul 2025 Yeongwon Art Fair, Yeongdo C Gallery / AR Gallery, Seoul 2025 <Galleries Art Fair Suwon: Sumunjang Art Fair>, Suwon Cultural Foundation, Suwon 2025 <0 Won Art Fair>, 0 Degrees Gallery / AR Gallery, Seoul 2025 <BANK Art Fair>, Fairmont Ambassador, Seoul 2025 <The Art of Letting Go>, C-Muse Project, Space Atel, Seoul 2024 <Small Museum>, Lee Miyeon & Lee Yuji 2-Person Exhibition, Suwon Cultural Foundation, Starfield Small Museum, Suwon 2024 <Chuncheon Art Island: Korea and India>, Chuncheon Cultural Foundation, Nami Island Pyeonghwarang Gallery, Chuncheon 2024 <Sumunjang Art Fair PART 2>, Suwon Cultural Foundation, 111CM, Suwon 2024 <Art Record Cheongju>, Geu-eotteon, Chungbuk Cultural Foundation, Culture Manufacturing Plant, Cheongju 2024 <YOUTH> Group Exhibition, Whitestone Gallery, Seoul 2024 <Sumunjang O! Galleries Art Fair IN Suwon>, Suwon Cultural Foundation, Suwon Convention Center, Suwon 2024 <Jeju International Art Fair>, Jeju Convention Center, Jeju 2024 <Weekly K-Auction>, K Auction, Seoul 2024 <Light and Dark> Neonji & Lee Yuji 2-Person Exhibition, Art Boda Gallery, Seoul 2023 <Gallery Siseon> Lee Yuji & Lee Jeongmin 2-Person Exhibition, Curated by Seoul National University Emeritus Professor Kim Jeonghee, GS Siseon, Seoul 2022 <Daydream: A Dream Dreamt at Noon> Kim Gitae, Lee Yuji, Jang Soyeon 3-Person Exhibition, Informel Seongsu, Seoul 2022 <Cheonggi Iljeon> Jeju Youth Day, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Office 1st Building, Jeju 2021 <Gwanin Culture Village>, Gwanin (former) Agricultural Cooperative Fertilizer Warehouse, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Gwanin Cultural Regeneration Research Society, Pocheon 2021 <Wonderful Days for All>, Seoul Citizen University, Seoul 2021 <Eulji Art Fair Prize>, Jung-gu Cultural Foundation, Eulji Twin Tower, Seoul 2020 <Eulji Art Fair Prize>, Jung-gu Cultural Foundation, Eulji Twin Tower, Seoul 2020 <A1 Emerging Youth Artist>, Geumboseong Art Center, Seoul 2019 <Hanseong Baekje Songpa Art Festival>, Yesong Museum of Art, Seoul 2019 <Nut Gallery Selected Artist Special Exhibition>, Nut Gallery, Seoul 2018 <From Everyone to Here>, 3-Person Exhibition, Curated by Lee Juhee, Art Space Et, Seoul 2018 <ASYAAF Part 1>, DDP, Seoul 2018 <Seodaemun Inn Art Fair>, Seodaemun Inn, 7 Picture, Seoul 2018 <3rd A1 Emerging Artist>, Geumboseong Art Center, Seoul 2017 <First Collection Experience>, Ecorak Gallery, Seoul 2017 <ASYAAF Part 2>, DDP, Seoul 2017 <1st Track - Healing> Yungyeom & Lee Yuji 2-Person Exhibition, Seojeong Art Center, Seoul 2016 <Gaze of the Future> Seojeong Art Center Emerging Artist Selected Exhibition, Seojeong Art Center, Seoul 2016 <5th Spielplatzhan Competition> Lee Yuji & Ju Sang-eon 2-Person Exhibition, Spielplatzhan Gallery, Seoul 2016 <ASYAAF Part 2>, DDP, Seoul 2015 <GIAF Gwanghwamun Art Festival Young Artist> Competition Selected, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul 2015 <Facing Anxiety> M.A. Thesis Relay Solo Exhibition, Kookmin Art Gallery, Seoul 2015 <Exchange Stroke Painting>, Kwaeyeonjae Museum of Art, Yeongwol, Gangwon-do 2014 <Dawn Phenomenon>, Pyeongchang-dong Yeonwoo Gallery, Seoul 2014 <ASYAAF Part 2>, Former Seoul Station, Seoul 2013 <Movement Exhibition> Suwon University Western Painting Graduation Exhibition, Iz Gallery, Seoul Awards 2024 <Artist of Tomorrow> Gyeomjae Jeong Seon Competition Selected, Excellence Award, Gyeomjae Jeong Seon Museum of Art, Seoul 2024 <JDC Jeju Art Competition>, Encouragement Award, Jeju Gallery Association, JDC, Jeju 2022 <4th Seoul-ro Media Canvas>, Flat Work Award, Seoul-ro Media Canvas, Manri-dong Square, Seoul 2020 <Art Prize Gangnam>, Excellence Award, Art Prize Gangnam, Gangnam Cultural Foundation, Seoul 2016 <Summer Saengsaek Exhibition> Gasong Art Award Competition Selected, Collaboration Category, Gong Art Space, Seoul 2016 <1st Seoriful ART for ART>, Special Selection, Yujung Art Center, Seoul 2015 <14th Hanseong Baekje Art Award>, Special Selection, Yesong Museum of Art, Seoul 2015 <12th Hanseong Baekje Art Award>, Special Selection, Yesong Museum of Art, Seoul 2013 <15th Danwon Art Festival>, Special Selection, Danwon Museum of Art, Seoul Art Sponsorship Program 2025 Samwon Art Sponsorship 8th Cohort, Samwon Paper, Samwon Gallery, Seoul Collections 2024 Gyeomjae Jeong Seon Museum of Art, "Self Bloomed in Wetland, Flower of the Abyss" 2020 Seoul Culture Headquarters Museum, "Forest of the Abyss 2" 2016 Hana Bank Art Bank, "Red Room" and fair and private collector collections Arts Education 2025 Korea Arts & Culture Education Service 'Healing Like Spring' Dementia Senior Participatory Teaching Artist, Project C, Eunpyeong-gu Naereul Geonneoseo Library, Seoul Workshops 2025 <Mind Pharmacy - Suwon Festival> Oct 25, 'Sacred Object Workshop of Wishes', Suwon 2025 <Myeongdong Meal - One Bite of Art> Oct 22, 'Bibbidi Bobbidi' Art Peddler Workshop, Seoul Residency 2026 Chuncheon Art Village 4th Cohort, Chuncheon Cultural Foundation, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do
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Recently Sold
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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.