Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG) proudly presents Memento Mori, an exhibition highlighting the work of Los Angeles-based artist, Suhn Lee (b. 1983, Los Angeles). Join us for our Opening Reception on Sunday, March 9, 2025, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. 

The exhibitions open March 6, 2025, through May 18, 2025.

Memento Mori marks the first institutional exhibition by the Los Angeles based artist Suhn Lee whose practice synthesizes ceramics and textiles. Drawn to the meditative and process-driven nature of these materials, Lee’s sculptures externalize the psychological experiences of anxiety, perfectionism, and grief. Informed by her Korean American heritage, the artist presents a series of sculptures that she describes as “creatures”: small to medium-sized ceramics armored with beadwork, sequins, and fabric. Their abstracted, geometric forms are inspired by ten symbols of longevity and prosperity derived from various Asian cultures, like turtles, clouds, and mushrooms.

Lee’s repetition-driven practice of stitching and adhering or shaping and firing clay becomes a process akin to a physical mantra of transmuting pain whose effects cultivate reverence for the mundane. “Remember you must die,” the dialectical expression behind the latin phrase that titles this exhibition mirrors Lee’s artistic practice of indexing life’s challenges as relics or tokens akin to evidence of a life well lived.

As a part of the gallery’s ongoing 70th anniversary celebration, Memento Mori emerged from the latest iteration of LAMAG’s historic Open Call exhibition, known as Open Call: Apophenia which featured over 350 artists across LA County.

Suhn Lee: Memento Mori  is curated by arts associate Samantha Alexis Manuel with LAMAG curator, Hugo Cervantes.

Exhibition programming is forthcoming.