A Woman and Others, and Relationship Building
Figures in her paintings are predominately women. Some figures that are presumed to be men appear in her initial work, but most of her work contains one or two women. In her early work, two gender elusive figures appear, but in her mid-term years, mostly one figure appears. Her latest work represent multiple figures on canvas. Such a progression of ideas reveals if the artist is communicating with her inner voice or if she sets the direction of communication outside in the course of creating the scene. Her serial works titled <Absence> and <The Mess of Emotion> belong to the former category. Lee Rim’s work follows the flow of the consciousness of the artist. The course where two figures appear, there is greater focus on one figure. The focus expands to two figures again, showcasing the process in which the artist herself builds relationships with others. The relation- ships among the figures in her work are the barometer representing the relationship between herself and others.
The relation- ships among the figures in her work are the barometer representing the relationship between herself and others. It visualized the emotional conflicts or the inner landscapes in deposition.
The inter-personal relationship means a gap among communication but it does not applies to all of her work. For instance, her serial works titled <Consensus> has the appearance of one or two figures, but the two are not clearly separated. Figures appearing in the series are sometimes intermingled as if they are one body and are sometimes separated as if they are a twin with the same face. The relationships among figures appearing in Rim Lee’s paintings are not necessarily communicating with one another: They reaffirm the presence of neglected human beings. This is also a visualization of someone suffering in which he/she keeps calling some- ones heart without opening his/her eyes. In this closed space, no one can hear the answer.
Art Critic Park Kyoung-Rin