Hakgojae Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Woosung LEE (b. 1983)'s solo exhibition, Come Sit with Me from August 9th (Wed) to September 13th (Wed) at Hakgojae Gallery Space 1. Woosung LEE is one of the young artists who lead the contemporary Korean art scene today. He wholeheartedly displays the true form of Korean painting, embodying contemporary sensibilities. Lee comprehensively draws inspiration from traditional Korean painting genres, such as landscape painting, folk painting, Buddhist painting, hanging painting, and even paintings used as signboards for theaters in the past century. The theme that the artist explores in his work is the spacetime we live in. Every event and circumstance that he encounters holds significant meaning, giving birth to the true essence of painting. According to the artist, painting is not merely a technique, form, or style; it is the voice of a specific era and the spirit of the times. As Woosung Lee sees it, the meaning of painting lies in the dynamism that opens people's hearts and emotions through the painter's perspective, engaging them in understanding the era. The exhibition Come Sit with Me is a project inspired by the palm stencil paintings found in the Indonesian Sulawesi caves, dating back 40,000 years, discovered in 2018. Though Altamira in Spain, Lascaux in France, Sulawesi in Indonesia, and Banwoldang in Ulsan are different in spacetime, they share a universality that celebrates the joy of life (daily life) felt by people at that time and the mysterious power of nature. Lee believes that, like people of the past, we, too, should leave behind the beauty of the spacetime we live in and the meaningful connections between individuals through painting. The images of families happily sharing fruits as well as paintings of historic sites with contemporary symbols unfold new stories never told before. The exhibition then continues to the painting of three young women embracing a moment in our extremely beautiful homeland and also portraits of the artist’s friends and colleagues, highlighting the significance of living in our era. The most important concept to the artist is the relationship between parts and the whole. Each painting carries meaning on its own, but when all the images come together to form a complete whole, the meaning of the era and life is revealed. Lee proposes a narrative structure that constructs the whole through the convergence of all the parts, representing the lives and cultures of young adults living in our era. The meaning is revealed when the members of this era come together to form a complete whole. Hence, the artist says, "Come Sit with Me."