Friends Artspace is delighted to present The Shape of a Gi  (선물의 모습 ), a solo exhibition by Youngmin Lee, a Korean-born, California-based artist whose practice expands from the tradition of bojagi: the Korean wrapping cloth used to hold precious objects, household items, and gifts.

Lee is recognized as the foremost expert and steward of bojagi outside of its country of origin. Rooted in function, bojagi provides Lee with a framework for exploring inheritance, devotion, and mastery. The works are hand stitched from recycled and scrap materials, assembled through an intuitive, improvised process rather than a fixed pattern. For Lee, each stitch is a way of grounding the mind and placing wishes into the work, allowing intention and love to accumulate over time. Through this sustained attention, the pieced cloth is sanctified.

Lee’s work has long been guided by good wishes; since her father’s recent passing, it has also become a mourning meditation. The artist has incorporated fragments of her father’s calligraphy parchment and pieces of his clothing into her bojagi. Through her grief practice, Lee moves deeper into the work of embedded memory and lasting memorials.