Wonderland : Soft Winter
2026. 1. 7 – 1. 31 | [GALLERIES] gallery NoW
Lee Sa-ra
Wonderland, 116x150cm, Acrylic on wood, 2025, Pop Mint frame
The coziest season leading to Lee Sara’s shimmering world
The childlike world we thought we had left behind long ago was, in truth, quietly waiting for the moment it would awaken again inside our hearts. Hidden within it is the warmest time that anyone, at least once, longs to return to. Childhood memories, sparkling eyes, and a season when curiosity overflowed for everything in the world. The artist unfolds before us a Wonderland—what she calls “a happy, curiosity-filled world of dreams”—wrapping it in the warm and gentle breath of winter.
Wonderland, 116x150cm, Acrylic on wood, 2025, Pop Orange frame
As you step into the exhibition space, the girl’s bright eyes glimmer like sweet fragments of a dream, and monsters with mischievous expressions greet you like friends in a winter forest. The fluffy Lucky Bear, round from ears to toes, settles in place like a small stove warming the cold air. At the center of Lee Sara’s work is always the “nameless girl.” The anonymous girl who seems as if you happened to meet her by chance is, in fact, a self-portrait of ourselves—an intermediary that makes possible a time slip back to our purest days.
Wonderland, 99x99cm, Acrylic on wood, 2025, baby pink Frame
Through the girl’s sparkling eyes, viewers move into their own Wonderland. These characters go beyond mere cute decoration; together with the pale, fantastical “colors of Lee Sara,” they quietly lead us into a utopia. There, we slowly meet our childhood selves. A small time slip back to our purest days naturally occurs within the artist’s restrained palette and neo-pop narrative.
Wonderland, 95x121cm, Acrylic on wood, 2025, Pop yellow frame
The most important structure sustaining this world is “scratch.”
On a wooden panel, layers are built up dozens of times, then a blade moves again and again, drawing countless lines. This repetitive, meticulous labor is, for the artist, an intimate record that engraves time and emotion. The patterns formed by dense lines become wounds and traces, memories, and a cosmic order. The images of the girl, monsters, and bear placed atop them create tender fissures in a firm surface, guiding viewers to rediscover their own childlike innocence through the gaps.
Wonderland, 95x121cm, Acrylic on wood, 2025, baby pink frame
On the threshold of winter, the world flows cold and slow, but Lee Sara’s Wonderland is always preparing light within. Here, winter does not freeze. Touchable colors melt the chill wind, and the breath of small characters settles softly, like a quiet snowfall at night.
Wonderland, 77x95cm, Acrylic on wood, 2025, sweet pink frame
This exhibition, <WONDERLAND : SOFT WINTER>, is an incantation that awakens “the Wonderland within me,” that very world of childlike innocence. Through the dazzlingly clear colors newly revealed in this exhibition and the gentle, pale sensation of winter—pure images and calm emotions—visitors will be able to take a brief journey through time into their own Wonderland.
“Shining, shining – Welcome to the softest winter of your Wonderland.”
To everyone who hears this whisper, we offer a warm winter miracle in which all wishes for the New Year 2026 come true within each person’s Wonderland.
– Gallery NoW Curator Song Jiwon
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[GALLERIES] gallery NoW
- Dates
- 2026. 1. 7 – 1. 31
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