“Psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan observed that this myth revealed how animals are attracted to superficial appearances, but humans are enticed by what is hidden. My work attempts to appeal to both, our animal and human instincts,” says Leeah Joo
There were never enough drawing papers in the house. Leeah Joo’s earliest childhood memories include searching for scraps of paper to draw on. Her mother had to stow away all mails and bills so the toddler wouldn’t scribble on them. Leah was exposed to artists and art-making early on with a sculptor father and an illustrator mother. Born in Seoul South Korea in 1971, she grew up dreaming of becoming a manga artist one day. At age ten, she moved to the United States with her family. She studied painting and art history at Indiana University in Bloomington, where she fell in love with the traditions of Western painting. Since completing her MFA in illustration from Yale School of Art in 1996, her work has been widely exhibited in U.S. and South Korea. She lives in Connecticut with her family where she divides her time painting and teaching at Southern CT State University and Paier College.
