Yae Jee Min (b. Jinju, South Korea) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice intersects painting, textile, drawing, and craft. She received her MFA and BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BA in Psychology from Boston University. Working through abstraction and material experimentation, Min explores nostalgia, memory, identity, femininity, and the emotional landscapes of domestic and interior life.
Her work brings together acrylic, fabric, sequins, collage, and other tactile materials to construct layered, whimsical spaces where memories are fragmented, transformed, and reassembled. Drawing from both personal experience and the psychology of memory, she approaches familiar yet emotionally charged subjects—including domesticity, sleep deprivation, vulnerability, and migration—through playful compositions that balance intimacy with ambiguity. Childlike gestures, saturated surfaces, and meticulous material processes create a tension between attraction and unease, inviting viewers to enter difficult emotional spaces through a sense of warmth, humor, and wonder.
Min’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Seoul Museum of Art, Torrance Art Museum, and DfbrL8r Gallery. She is based in Southern California.
CV:
Education:
2019 M.F.A in Painting and Drawing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2016 B.F.A Studio Art, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2012 B.A. Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA
Selected Exhibitions:
2025 Tryst Art Fair, Plomo Gallery, Torrance, CA
A Traves Del Caos, Plomo Gallery, CMDX, Mexico
Tumbled Rhyme, LVL3 Gallery, Chicago, IL
2024 Spring/Break Art Show, GalleryxChiao, Los Angeles, CA
2023 fantasticolismo, Expo Open House, Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL
Neon Dreams, Arts of Life, Chicago, IL
Gifted Wings, Jude Gallery, Chicago, IL
2022 Menagerie, Agency, Chicago, IL
Remix, Shatto Gallery, Los Angeles CA
Imagined Tensions, Ingress Gallery, Chicago, IL
Foundation, Korean Cultural Center of Chicago, Wheeling, IL
2021 Mud Puddling, LVL3, Chicago, IL
The Other Art Fair, Arts of Life, Chicago, IL
A lullaby touching the ground, Latent Space, Chicago, IL (solo)
Current cartoons, animals improved commentator scares, psychoanalyst, Buddy, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
SE SON ROSE, FIORIRANNO, salonLB, Chicago,IL
2020 Chicago Gallery Open (with Julius Caesar), NADA, Chicago, IL
Expo Chicago Exhibition Weekend (with Julius Caesar), Chicago, IL
sweet rain that fell: through a kaleidoscope, Julius Caesar Gallery, Chicago, IL (solo exhibition)
Box Box Box Sun Sun Sun, Circle Contemporary, Chicago, IL
Sleeper Cell, Apparatus Projects, Chicago, IL (postponed)
Drawing Forever, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Chicago, IL (postponed)
2019 Homesick Remedy, Jaw Gallery, Yamaguchi, Japan
Voyagers, Korean Cultural Center, Wheeling, IL
Pane in the Ass, Jaw Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Turf, The Research House for Asian Art, Chicago, IL
Our House, Congruent Space, Chicago, IL
With a Capital P: Selections by Six Painters (Happier Hours) , Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
SAIC MFA Thesis Show, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
In My Feelings, Young Chicago Authors, Chicago IL
GIFC (got it for cheap) The Hole, New York, NY
GIFC (got it for cheap), Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
GIFC (got it for cheap,) The Costume House, Toronto, Canada
2018 Tee Time, Free Range, Chicago, IL
GIFC (got it for cheap), Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
GIFC (got if for cheap), Fisher Parish Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Meaning to Touch, Rover Gallery, Chicago, IL
What Was Painting? curated by Laura Owens, Club Nutz, Chicago, IL
Receipt Drawings 2, Total Carbohydrates, Chicago, IL
2017 No Filter: Snapchat Paintings, Total Carbohydrates, Chicago, IL
Receipt Drawings, Total Carbohydrates, Chicago, IL
2016 Out of Order, DfbrL8r Gallery, Chicago, IL
Fall BFA Thesis Show, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
State of Art: Artist Subscription, McGarry Bowen Agency, Chicago, IL
2015 Hubbard Place Viewing, Chicago, IL
2013 Reflections, Ever Art Gallery, Torrance, CA (solo exhibition)
50th Mokwoo Art Exhibition Competition, Seoul Museum of Arts (SeMA), Seoul, Korea (solo exhibition)
Mokwoohoe International Art Fair, Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea
South Bay Focus, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
King Has Come, Ever Art Gallery, Torrance, CA
2012 Cold Love, Park View Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Publications/Interviews:
2020 "Sweet Rain that Fell: Multidisciplinary Artist" by Joanne Hseih, Chiaoxart
"Artist of the Week", with LVL3 Gallery
"60wrd/min COVID Edition", by Lori Waxman, Newcity Art
"No Expo, No Problem", by Claire Voon, Chicago Mag
Experience:
Roving Substitute Teacher for Painting and Drawing Department January 2019- May 2019
Social Fabrics Studio TA with Lisa Vinebaum, January 2018-May 2018
Materials and Technique Painting Studio TA with Frank Piatek, September 2017- December 2017
Sullivan Gallery, Gallery Assistant, February 2016- December 2016
Financial Aid Office, Office Assistant, October 2014-May 2015
iD8 Art Studio, Art Teacher and Intern, March 2013- April 2014
Awards:
2019 : SAIC Enrichment Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2017-2019)
2018: George/ Isabel Brown Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2016: Beatrice C Mayer Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Uretz Merit Scholarship, Ox-Bow School of Art
Distinguished Merit Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2014-2016)
2013: Juried Acceptance Award at the 50th Mokwoo Art Exhibition Competition, South Korea