Lily Son

Provenance: Directly from the artist

Lily Son (b.1991,BFA School of the Art Institute of Chicago) is a painter based in Seoul best known for her eye-catching appropriations of 1990’s cartoon characters from her Childhood series and her Feeling Diaries series which is an expressively auto- biographical body of works in which the artist offers insight into her most personal thoughts and experiences.

In Childhood Series 5, the eponymous character “Wally” from the British puzzle series “Finding Wally” appears multiple times on the canvas, once apparent and once hidden underneath a thick layer of paint to emphasize the witty association between the painting and the puzzle.

The artist’s intention of using familiar characters from 90’s cartoon series is to make her work more approachable for the audience and revive memories associated with their childhood. 

The viewer’s personal engagement to form his or her own recollection of the work is exactly how Son would like the viewer to engage with her work.

"While the intention of an artist creating a painting is important, if that intention doesn't get conveyed to the viewer of the artwork, it loses its meaning. Therefore, I believe a work of art is truly completed through communication with the viewer. The fundamental requirement for this communication is 'honesty.' I think genuine emotions must be conveyed for effective communication to take place."

Lily Son has held solo exhibitions at galleries such as Ruach Gallery, Adm Gallery and Art Space AT Seoul and has previously won the GAMMA Young Artist Competition “Young Artist of the Year Award” and was The Artist’s Magazine Competition “(First Prize) Winner.”