Lee ShinJa (b. 1930) is a pioneering first-generation Korean fiber artist and educator. During the 1950s and 60s, when working with thread and fabric was considered domestic labor, Lee broke new ground in the evolution of applied arts in Korea. Against the conventions of traditional craft, she experimented with modern formal techniques, driving innovations in embroidery, dyeing, weaving, and tapestry to expand the breadth and depth of the genre, which at the time was still unestablished.

After earning her BFA from Seoul National University in 1955, Lee’s work shifted boldly toward abstraction. She employed wax-resist dye and contemporary embroidery techniques to fragment shapes and emphasize texture, creating compositions that broke away from the constraints of traditional textile work. In the 1960s, as dyed craft began to gain prominence while traditional embroidery declined, Lee presented modernized compositions that reflected her formal experimentation and conceptual innovation.

Image of the City (1961), a key work from this early period, depicts a complex textile composition on a warm golden-orange ground, suggesting an abstract cityscape or map. Lee balances precise coiling techniques with free, frayed threads, creating tension between structure and improvisation across the surface. Cascading vertical elements descend like urban waterfalls or architectural fragments, while knotted and netted areas form pockets of dense texture that contrast with smoother woven passages. The artist described this approach as part of her unique style, “aimed at creating a relief-like effect, emphasizing the matière of thread as a form of painting, with a notion distinct from the traditional use of the material.”*

* ShinJa, Lee. “The Development Process of Korean Textile Art and Distinctiveness as a Formative Art.” The Journal of the National Academy of Arts, Republic of Korea, no. 41 (2002): 89–148.