Winter in Disguise

LEE & BAE presents the two-person exhibition "Winter in Disguise" by artists Mihei Her and Jay Choi. This exhibition explores the ambivalent facets of contemporary life through the seasonal metaphor of “winter,” delicately illuminating moments of comfort and traces of hope found within it. As suggested by the exhibition title Winter in Disguise, the two artists translate the subtle movements of emotions and memories concealed within a cold reality into distinct visual languages. Winter in Disguise intricately weaves a complex emotional landscape shaped by exhaustion and recovery, stillness and motion, coldness and warmth in modern life, offering a space for dialogue where the textures of emotion are deeply inscribed.

Dates

January 6, 2026 — February 27, 2026

Location

LEE & BAE, Busan

Hours

Tue — Sat, 10:00 — 18:00

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About the Artists

Mihei Her

Seoul, South Korea, b. 1968

In Mi-Hei Her's artwork, most often printed on transparent film that covers the box. It easily shows and can read the fragments of the intimate diary of the past and the images of routine so we could see today of “it was”, as well as could see today of words that share with friends or neighborhood around directly or indirectly or today of neighborhood and street saw through the window. Between of palimpsest -repeatedly erase and rewrote- and kaleidoscopic and between layering and juxtaposition, we could see the artist’s identity get lost in front of our eyes. Her process of working the plexiglass has been based on the technology that was produced and used in Korea, where she lives. Her artwork process is made in eight steps; Take a photo, Select images amongst the photos taken and edit with Photoshop, Plexiglass cutting (Laser cutting and treat the edges with an angle of 45°), Printing the photos on transparent adhesive paper, Use a transparent glossy coating on the printed photo, Attach the printed photo to the plexiglass, Make a box with methylene chloride and Polish the box edges and attach hooks. Her artwork process which is the master complete the luxury item with every little stitch by hand. And It is very detail and delicate with my mind and fingertip even though it is not the same item and churn item out with machine. It is very hard process that I have to focus on the work in my whole body, mind and spirit with each process. It can count at the moment for each of these series for each of the works, 24, 49, 56, 48 or 82... Nevertheless these series could remain open. Obsessively, decisively, delicately and very lucidly ‘Her’ and Mi-Hei HER, seeking writer, continued to write and be written by depositing her crystal Pandora boxes on the floor or by affixing to the walls and sometimes on the windows.

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Jay Choi

Seoul, South Korea, b. 1975

Jay Choi does not begin her work with sketches. Instead, she photographs landscapes that inspire her and keeps them beside her canvas, responding intuitively with brushstrokes as she paints the wind. Once the first trace of wind appears on the previously empty canvas, she spends a long time gazing at the surface—somewhere between the landscape and the painting. Before the pigment dries, she erases the wind and paints it again, repeating this process countless times until the work takes form. This process draws viewers into the world of the canvas while allowing the artist herself to focus fully on her inner emotions and 흐름. Her practice is a continuous sequence of unplanned gestures, relying entirely on momentary sensation. She often describes her work as resembling life itself. What life has taught her is the wisdom of accepting situations as they unfold differently from what was planned, and of moving forward by surrendering to the flow. This lesson is directly reflected in her working process: the spontaneous direction of wild grasses or reeds, decided in an instant, becomes a more natural expression of wind. Once the direction of the wind is set, she traces its texture as if drawing the grain of emotion, entrusting herself to the movement of her brush. Each brushstroke becomes both an act of painting and a record of the sounds arising from within. Amid the plants swaying in the ever-blowing wind, a solitary house stands firmly in place, functioning as the final destination of all processes and emotions. It serves as a shelter, a refuge, and a sanctuary. While some works are celebrated for grand social discourses, monumental narratives that challenge their times, or critically rational frameworks, her work turns inward. It is deeply personal, subjective, and emotional—and precisely for that reason, it resonates with viewers. Offering quiet comfort to the heart becomes the role entrusted to her work.

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