SanOh Lee works with materials such as soil, paper, and graphite to poetically reflect on life and death. By recognizing structural similarities in the ways text and image are generated, the artist explores diverse modes of creative language.

Drawing from elements found in books, Lee constructs relationships between text and image, unfolding compositions in a manner akin to writing. Through this process, the work expands into surreal visual landscapes.

The artist is particularly drawn to the image of the bird—as a medium that reveals what is sensed but unseen, such as intuition or premonition, and as a messenger that moves between the realms of the living and the dead.

The work begins with the act of writing poetry and unfolds through the process of translating images that arise from language into visual form. In this process, language functions not merely as description, but as a sensory prototype that exists prior to its transformation into image. The artist explores the point at which text and image intersect and expand into one another.

The Aile series draws on ancient artistic forms in which literature and visual art had not yet been separated, constructing compositions where text and image coexist and interact. Inspired in part by illuminated biblical manuscripts—where images can substitute for or operate on equal terms with written language—the work builds pictorial spaces in which text and image are experienced sensorially. The text within the compositions does not resolve into complete sentences, but remains fragmentary, functioning alongside imagery to form a loose narrative flow.

The recurring motif of birds and wings acts as a mediator between the visible world and what lies beyond death, and in this series expands into a more sacred presence. The flow of color and the transformation of form suggest states of transition and becoming, while the figure of the bird gradually dissolves into structural elements or traces.

CDA is a gallery stands for ‘Creative’, ‘Discovery’, and ‘Appreciation’. The gallery mainly presents creative activities in various fields of contemporary visual arts in the form of exhibitions. CDA exhibition mainly focuses on paintings but subjects to all kinds of genres and mediums such as sculpture, prints, photography, animation, and video. The form of the exhibitions is also balanced, with a mix of solo and group exhibitions, as well as art fairs and collaborative projects. We sincerely hope that our activities will serve as a spark for the realization of meaningful projects for creators(artists) and an opportunity for audiences to expand their inspiration and collecting.