Artist Talk: Ellee SY Lee

Riverdale Hub Gallery is excited to announce

“In the Rhythm of Being”

An Exhibition by Ellee SY Lee

on view from September 10th – October 8th, 2025

Artist Reception

Saturday September 20th
Meet the Artist: 2 – 4 pm
Artist Talk: 3 pmFor more information, contact gallery@riverdalehub.ca

About the Artist

Ellee SY Lee is a Korean-Canadian, Toronto-based visual artist creating imaginary, semi-abstract paintings that explore diverse visual experiences. She immigrated to Canada as a teenager, where she discovered her love for art-making. Painting, in particular, became a liberating way for her to connect deeply with her subconscious and emotional state. She received her BFA from OCAD University in 2006 and pursued abstract art for several years. However, her personal circumstances brought her back to Korea, where she paused her artistic practice for nearly a decade. After returning to Canada, she realized that her connection to art had never faded, and this led her to rekindle her passion for painting. She has been actively participating in art fairs and exhibitions since 2023.

Her work springs from a confluence of personal memories, the rhythms of nature, and a deep engagement with Korean traditional art, intertwined with the visual sensibilities of Western art movements such as Post-Impressionism and Post-Pop Landscape. At its core is an exploration of life’s dynamic flow—where she perceives vibrancy, beauty, harmony, and the interconnectedness of all things.

She is currently immersed in three ongoing series: Innerscape, an inward journey into her own visions; The Way Things Are, a meditation on irregularity and the uncontrolled; and Walking with You, a celebration of everyday beauty. Working organically and intuitively, she builds layers of simplified shapes and lines, bold colour, shifting perspectives, mark-making, flatness, and texture, allowing the unexpected to lead the process. The paintings that emerge invite a sense of mysticism, dreaminess, and quiet reflection.