The Walking Mountain
Sandra Eula Lee: The Walking Mountain
Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel University, Philadelphia
April 2 - May 25, 2024
Philadelphia re(FOCUS) 2024
Art Spiel
Three in Conversation and Past Present Journal of Contemporary Art
Sandra Eula Lee: The Walking Mountain brings together sculptural installations that reflect the artist’s interests in labor, migration, and material histories. A Korean-American artist and daughter of immigrants, Lee’s exhibition centers on Portable Pond, a large installation referencing East Asian gardens, which traditionally provide a central reflective space to mirror back the view. Other works complement the "pond" in mixed media materials drawn from the confluence of the constructed and natural environments. In Seeds in a Wild Garden for example, Lee reflects on living and working in Seoul and Beijing, where she observed mountains of building materials accumulated as buildings were demolished. Yet occupying spaces in between were impromptu gardens created by neighborhood residents, signaling care and resilience.