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 boldly shifted towards abstraction through the use of wax-resist dye and contemporary embroidery applications to break up shapes and emphasize textures. Created two years before her piece Image of the City (1961), Work I vividly demonstrates Lee's early innovative spirit. Suggesting an abstract cityscape or map, the piece features tightly woven sections alongside areas where threads are left loose. Lee uses precise coiling techniques in contrast to free, frayed threads, balancing structure with improvisation. The artist described this 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." [1]

1. 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.