Lee ShinJa (b.1930) is a pioneering first-generation Korean fiber artist and educator, whose materials-centric practice interwove salvaged fibers, traditional embroidery thread, steel, and multidimensional abstraction. The artist’s long career as an artist, educator, and organizer persisted throughout the Korean War and Reconstruction, and has solidified her as one of the most influential artists of her generation. The artist was the subject of a recent retrospective at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, and stands as living testament that the canon of her generation of Asian artists expands beyond established, predominantly male movements such as Dansaekhwa and Mono-ha.

This work is inspired by the artist's childhood memories of hiking the mountains of her hometown, Uljin, to watch the sunrise with her father. Dawn thus captures the resilience and vitality of nature through its dynamic, semi-abstract composition, and reflects Lee’s spiritual connection to the natural world.