When Christina Lee speaks about her work, she doesn’t describe it in terms of exhibitions, accolades, or milestones. Instead, she talks about pauses, hesitations, and the overlooked details of everyday life. For Lee, art is not simply about mastery of form but about cultivating connection in a world that often feels fragmented.

A former assistant curator turned professional artist, Lee’s journey reflects a deliberate choice to step away from security and into uncertainty — a space where she says she has discovered both freedom and authenticity.

From Curating Others to Finding Her Own Voice

Before embracing her path as an artist, Lee worked at a gallery in South Korea, helping to spotlight emerging craft artists during the pandemic. Her role centered on introducing and selling their work online, a task that revealed the possibilities of young creatives in a rapidly changing world.

Yet even as she built a stable career, Lee found herself grappling with internal questions. What kind of art do I want to create? If I were to make art about this subject, what medium and message would I use?

Those questions resurfaced vividly in 2022, while she was preparing for an art fair. As she read artist statements and organized works, she realized her desire to create had always been there — just waiting for clarity. With a background in ceramics, she turned back to the medium she knew best, beginning her journey as a professional artist.

“Today, I feel grateful for choosing the life of an artist — a path that embraces uncertainty,” she says. “Within that uncertainty, I have found balance, happiness, and the sense that I am being more myself than ever before.”

Shaping an Artistic Practice Around Human Connection

Lee describes her practice as one that arises from “the subtle textures of human connection.” Having lived most of her life in South Korea before moving to the United States, she has learned to navigate between languages, materials, and cultures.

Her work is not about chasing perfection. Instead, it is about honoring fragments, remnants, and overlooked gestures. She often incorporates materials that carry traces of other people’s efforts, reimagining them as spaces of care and relationship.

“Rather than seeking control or mastery, I approach making as a slow dialogue,” Lee explains. “Time, trust, and uncertainty shape the work as much as form and surface.”

This ethos transforms her practice into something more than a finished object. Each piece becomes a record of attentiveness — to place, to process, and to the fragile act of reaching out.

Art as a Language Beyond Words

Initially, Lee’s practice revolved around introspection. She describes her early work as a personal diary, a space for questions of identity and self-understanding. But moving to the United States shifted her perspective.

In a new cultural environment where language barriers often limited communication, she discovered art as a bridge. “Through interactions with people with whom I didn’t share a common language, I discovered that art itself could become a new language of understanding,” she says.

That realization gave her work a deeper mission — to foster connection across differences. She now views art not only as self-expression but as a spark born out of encounters with unfamiliar cultures and people. “In the process of collision and mingling, new ideas are sparked, and the art begins,” she reflects.

The Reward of Resonance

For Lee, the most profound reward of being an artist is when something deeply personal resonates with someone else.

“In a world as chaotic as the one we live in today, forming relationships or understanding others can often feel overwhelming, even frightening,” she says. “Yet when work that began as an intimate record resonates with another person and transforms into a medium of understanding, it feels like a beautiful gift.”

It is in those moments of connection — when the private becomes communal — that Lee finds the true purpose of her art.

A Life Built on Uncertainty and Balance

Christina Lee’s story is a reminder that creative careers rarely follow linear paths. Her leap from curating others to creating her own work illustrates the courage required to leave behind stability for the unknown.

Yet within that uncertainty, she has uncovered balance and fulfillment. For Lee, art is not about imposing meaning but about holding space — for memory, for dialogue, and for connection. And in a world hungry for understanding, that may be her most important contribution.