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Aimee Lee is an internationally recognized artist and scholar committed to preserving Korean papermaking traditions. This exhibition features dresses made entirely by hand from hanji (han =  Korean; ji = paper), traditional paper made from mulberry bark. Born in New York to immigrant parents, Lee traveled to Korea on a Fulbright grant to study the disappearing art of hanji. Learning from the leading teachers and masters of the craft, she returned to the United States committed to continuing their legacy, preserving the ancient craft and teaching the technique. In addition to transforming raw plant material into paper through a laborious process, she prints and dyes the resulting paper using natural materials such as indigo, onion skins and cochineal. She has developed a technique to create a lace-like material from the mulberry bark which she uses not only as one of the materials to construct her ethereal dresses but also as a surface to create pattern through printmaking. 

Lee takes the paper she makes and shapes it into garments, many in the form of hanbok (han = Korean; bok = clothing) the general word for traditional Korean clothing. The clothing construction process results in the creation of off-cuts which would normally be wasted. Given the labor involved in creating the paper and the legacy of frugality learned from her immigrant family, Lee makes a point to keep every scrap of material and incorporate them into future works. The patchwork designs reflect her commitment to sustainably stewarding the material she cultivates and crafts. This exhibition is a testament to Lee’s ongoing journey of rediscovering and revalorizing her cultural heritage. Her work is an exploration of the potential of paper as a material and as a medium of conveying meaning and connecting the past with the future. 

Artist Bio

Aimee Lee is the founder of the first Korean papermaking studio in North America and the author of the first English-language book on hanji. A two-time Fulbright recipient, Lee has exhibited widely at institutions including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Korean Cultural Centers in Washington, D.C., New York, and Abu Dhabi. Through her teaching, research, and studio practice, she continues to advance the field of papermaking while mentoring the next generation of artists.

 

Photo caption: Aimee Lee, Rift (2024). Ink, indigo, hanji, bark, thread. 57 x 25.5” x 3”