About Stephanie
Stephanie S. Lee is a Korean-American visual artist, educator, curator, graphic designer, and children’s book author based in Queens, New York. Rooted in Minhwa—the rich tradition of Korean folk painting—her work bridges cultural heritage and contemporary expression through storytelling, design, and community-centered engagement. She is also the founder of KoreanFolkArt.org, a platform dedicated to preserving and sharing Korean folk painting through exhibitions, workshops, and resources.
Trained in both Eastern and Western art practices, Lee is best known for her bookshelf paintings and reimagined folk motifs such as tigers, magpies, cranes, and moon rabbits. Her practice evokes meditative stillness, humor, and cultural symbolism, inviting viewers into personal and shared histories.
She is the founder of The Garage Art Center, a nonprofit arts space fostering cross-cultural dialogue through exhibitions, artist talks, and workshops. Lee has conducted Minhwa workshops at major institutions including the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Princeton University, and Cornell University, reaching participants of all ages.
In addition to her fine art, Lee is an experienced graphic designer and the author/illustrator of original children’s books that introduce young readers to Korean culture through Minhwa-inspired narratives.
Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Hyperallergic, NY1 News, and WNBC, among others.
Visual Artist – Minhwa-Inspired Contemporary Painting
Stephanie S. Lee is a Queens-based visual artist whose work draws on Minhwa, the tradition of Korean folk painting, reimagined through a contemporary lens. Her work has been exhibited internationally in museums and galleries across Asia, Europe, and the United States, including the Korean Cultural Centers in Paris, Madrid, and Washington, D.C.; the National Museum of Korea (Seoul); Indang Museum (Daegu, South Korea); Islip Art Museum (NY); Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center (NY); and the Charles B. Wang Center (NY). She has also participated in major art fairs, such as Scope Art and Fountain Art Fair (New York), Spectrum Miami Art Show (Miami), and the Affordable Art Fair (New York and Hong Kong).
Lee has received numerous grants and honors, including a City Artists Corps Grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and a New Work Grant from the Queens Council on the Arts (QAC). In 2024, she was awarded Apollo’s Decathlon at Château de Montsoreau – Museum of Contemporary Art (France), a Community Arts Grant from Flushing Town Hall, and Arts Grants for Queens (supported by NYSCA). In 2022, she was selected for the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies program to exhibit internationally.
Lee holds a BFA and MS from Pratt Institute and continues to live and work in Queens, New York.
Art Educator – Workshops & Cultural Programs
Lee has been teaching and promoting Korean folk art painting through workshops, exhibitions, and public programs since 2013. She founded the online platform KoreanFolkArt.org to expand public access to Minhwa education and cultural engagement. As a DOE-registered teaching artist with Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, she engages participants of all ages—ranging from elementary school students to seniors—at libraries, museums, and cultural organizations across the U.S.
Having served as the New York regional director of the Korea Minhwa Association for six years, Lee continues to actively foster appreciation for Korean folk art. She has served as a juror for an art contest hosted by Weill Cornell Medicine, The Korea Times, and has been invited as a panelist at the Newark Museum, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art program, and Queens College’s Arts Leadership Bootcamp.
Curator – Exhibition Design & Project Management
Lee holds an M.S. in Museums and Digital Culture from Pratt Institute, with an Advanced Certificate in Conservation & Digital Curation. She develops and manages exhibitions from concept through installation, including press writing, design, artist collaboration, artwork handling, and event coordination.
She has worked with numerous galleries and public institutions, including the Steinberg Museum of Art, Islip Art Museum, Belskie Museum of Art, Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, Queens College Art Center, The Garage Art Center, and public libraries across New York and New Jersey. To date, she has curated more than 70 exhibitions, including solo and group shows that have received recognition in outlets such as Hyperallergic, NY1, and WNBC.
Stephanie is also the founding director of The Garage Art Center, a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to exhibitions and public programs. Additionally, she runs and curates The Drawing Room New York, a collective for Korean American artists.
Graphic Designer – Print, Digital & Branding
A graduate of Pratt Institute with a BFA in Communications Design, Stephanie S. Lee received the Excellence Award for Outstanding Merit in Graphic Design and the Circle Award for Academic Achievement. Early in her career, she worked at firms including KPMG, where she was named Employee of the Year in recognition of her creative leadership and design innovation.
Lee later transitioned to freelance design work while raising her daughter, bringing her extensive experience into the cultural and nonprofit sector. She has produced visual identities, exhibition branding, print collateral, and digital content for artists, museums, and educational institutions.
She currently serves as a Museum Assistant at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, where she designs and produces all exhibition materials—posters, postcards, e-blasts, social media graphics, and digital signage. Her dual background in fine art and communication design allows her to create visually cohesive campaigns that elevate the public’s engagement with art.