The Passionate Patronage of Miyoung Lee

MATTHEW MCLEAN I understand you are just back from Venice. What were your impressions of this year’s Biennale?

MIYOUNG LEE I love going to Venice. I don’t have to go during the opening and, in fact, there are pros and cons to not going then. Going in June was actually lovely: the weather was great, the crowds were manageable and you could walk into a pavilion without standing in line. You could appreciate the art.

I read some articles about the Biennale before going, but I didn’t want to know too much. I was aware I was not going to recognize many artists and that this year’s edition was trying to celebrate overlooked or undiscovered figures as well as indigenous artists working today. The idea was to shine a light on many voices. Was it my personal aesthetic? Probably not, compared with other biennials, but I was moved, particularly by Bouchra Khalili’s The Mapping Journey Project [2008–11]: an eight-channel video depicting the personal stories of refugees, with just a hand holding a marker tracing a map. People traveled hundreds of miles or risked their lives, or took years just to get from A to B. Those stories were incredible.

I loved the US pavilion by Jeffrey Gibson. It was so joyous! I saw the video at the very end three times – it was so much fun!

‘I try to collect something that is museum-worthy.’

MM That video was the standout of the pavilion for me.

ML Yes. Those naysayers who thought Gibson’s project was too colourful – I totally disagreed. I always pay attention to the Korean pavilion, obviously, and this year I thought it was quite stunning because it was all about linking your sense of smell to your memories. The artist, Koo Jeong A, is very conceptual. It looks almost like nothing has been done to the building until you actually enter it, which I thought was a very daring move. The more I got to know about the project, the more layered I found it to be.

MM I know you bought your first piece of art very young while backpacking but in terms of your experience of going to exhibitions or biennials have there been key moments on your journey into art or becoming a collector?

ML I guess one of the problems I have with my collecting journey is that maybe I am too easily moved. I do like to get into the curator’s or the artist’s mind and see what they are trying to do. Even if it’s not something aesthetically appealing to me, I appreciate the process, the effort or the objective. I usually get something good out of a show. Maybe I’m too easy a grader in that regard!

MM It’s beautiful to be so open in that way and to have your sensibility so alive.

ML Well, I’m not a paid critic so I can simply enjoy art. And that really is why I collect – because it gives me such joy.

MM: You’re very generous in loaning your works for exhibitions. What motivates you to share your collection in that way?

ML That’s one of the best parts of collecting! Some people collect the domestically scaled piece that fits in their living room. Obviously, I’m not like François Pinault – I can’t buy huge installations – but, to the extent that I can, I try to collect something that is museum-worthy. If a museum does ask to borrow a piece, I’m very happy to lend because art should be shared. I think sharing art is just as important for me as discovering art. The two aspects are equally fun. So, at any given moment in time, there are quite a few things on loan. I have someone who helps me keep track of what comes in and out. My email inbox always has messages from curators or museum administrators asking me to sign documents.

MM What is it like seeing a piece you’ve loaned in situ in an exhibition?

ML I don’t tend to make a big deal about it. I’ll maybe sneak a selfie or something! But I am just very happy to see a piece in a show, witness the conversation with other works by the artist and see how the curator has interpreted that piece. I know Christine Sun Kim has a show coming up at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and I have a request to respond to. I’m already very excited about that exhibition; I’m going to lend and will be very happy to see the work there.

MM How do you feel about ‘sharing’ your collection in the sense of letting it be photographed for Frieze Week?

ML I have to say, this is the first time that somebody will be taking a photograph in my house. When we do have collection visits, I don’t ask people to post on Instagram: “Oh, I’m at Miyoung’s house and she has a Cindy Sherman.” I don’t want that. Though, when I look at an interior-decorating magazine and there’s a photoshoot of somebody’s living room, the first thing I do look at is what art is on the wall!

‘I’m very happy to lend because art should be shared.’

MM On the subject of your support for institutions, could you tell me how you became involved with the Whitney?

ML Supporting the Whitney has been an overwhelming joy. I’ve been a committee member for close to 15 years and a board member for almost ten. I started on the painting and cculpture acquisition committee. A very good friend, who’s an excellent collector – Greg Miller – is still on the committee, and he really got me on the right path. The Whitney’s emphasis on emerging artists is a passion I share. The Whitney Biennial is one of my all-time favourite art events. And I can even walk to the museum!

But my first involvement with a museum was actually with the Studio Museum in Harlem. That was a happy coincidence: a friend on their acquisition committee invited me to attend a meeting with her because she thought I might like it. There I got to meet Thelma Golden, who has been an inspiration and an art mentor ever since.

MM What do your board roles at these institutions require of you?

ML If you find an institution with which your values align – as I did with the Whitney and Studio Museum – your presence is important. You need to come to the openings and to meetings. Be a cheerleader for the employees. Financial support is obviously important, whether big or small. Beyond regular dues, you can help with the costs of a specific show or acquisition. Unfortunately, in the US, because we have very little government support, institutions rely on patrons. Whatever you can do is really meaningful to museums and artists. For me, it is not just about acquiring but also about supporting artists and institutions. Yes, I am writing some cheques when I’m not even buying art. They are literally just support cheques. But the intangible returns I get from friendships, knowledge and conversations with curators and artists – I would never be able to have those if I weren’t supporting museums. You can’t put a value on that. If you see art only as a financial investment, you will have a very limited art journey.

MM You’ve been to many fairs over the years – what draws you to them?

ML I find art fairs very helpful. I can’t go to every single one of them, but a fair gives me an opportunity to visit another city and pick up the vibe. With Frieze Los Angeles, for example, the fair itself is key, but to see the gallery scene around LA is also a very important part of the experience. It’s the same with Frieze London: it’s a great opportunity to see the fair itself, the museum shows, galleries and maybe satellite fairs. These trips allow you to broaden your horizons. Then you can also have some fun in the evening and try some new restaurants, too. I’m not just saying this to be flattering, but I really am so excited about Frieze Seoul. This is the third time I’ll be attending. I think the art scene in Korea is becoming so significant. The artists, the museum shows – the whole buzz is getting stronger and stronger.

MM What are you looking forward to doing around town during Frieze Seoul?

ML I’m really looking forward to Anicka Yi’s show at Leeum Museum of Art. I know she’s going to do something out of this world and I think it’s going to blow everyone’s mind. Last year, the Leeum show was Suki Seokyeong Kang, and I still love looking at the images from that exhibition. The restaurant scene in Korea is getting really exciting, too. Can someone please get me a reservation at Mingles?!

MM Can you tell me a little bit about your journey from Seoul to New York, for people who are unfamiliar with your story?

ML It’s a somewhat funny story because it actually starts in the US. I was born in the US. My father was finishing his doctorate here and he met my mother. His intention all along was to go back to Korea. They got married in the US, had me and, after a few years, he returned to Korea and started his career in government. I was educated in Korean schools but went to the US for college. My family thought I would return to Korea at some point. Unfortunately, that never happened. I started working in the US, met my husband and the rest is history. I have two kids now. I’ve lived in New York longer than anywhere else.

MM It’s really home.

ML Yes, at this point. My husband’s British and he had a similar path. He left the UK and made his way here to the US.

MM Is collecting something you share with your husband?

ML He likes attending the gallery dinners, meeting the artists and curators, serving institutions and learning about art, but he probably wouldn’t do a six-hour stint at an art fair like me. He generally defers to me on acquisitions, though sometimes I do drag him to the gallery and say: ‘You may not understand this, but I do want you to at least like it.’

‘If you see art only as a financial investment, you will have a very limited art journey.’

MM I understand you’re also supporting Lee Bul’s Facade Commission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which opens around the same time as Frieze Seoul.

ML It’s just afterwards, in September. I was sure to remind them: ‘Please do not open this during Frieze Seoul.’ I’m so happy and proud that Lee Bul is doing this. She is one of the first artists I collected, and I have so much admiration for her as a woman artist. In Korea in the 1970s and ’80s, it would have taken a lot of courage on her part to do what she was doing at that time. I was in Seoul at the same time; there was a lot of pressure to conform, especially for women: she was brave and just did her own thing. But Korean art didn’t fall out of the sky and start in the 1980s. There has been a wonderful history of Korean art throughout the 20th century. The dansaekhwa artists and then post-dansaekhwa artists were not recognized in their own country and it actually took people outside Korea to validate them. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York recently had a show about experimental art in Korea in the 1960s and ’70s, curated by the brilliant Kyung An. Those artists did not get proper recognition but, nonetheless, they kept working away. I have a lot of respect for that. Now, it’s different. In Venice, Kim Yun Shin, who is approaching 90, is showing a whole installation of wooden sculptures. Better late than never!

MM Do you feel a particular responsibility to support Korean or Korean-diaspora artists? Or is it maybe because of shared experience or concerns that their work might resonate with you? Or, actually, is it more simply that you like lots of different things and some of them happen to be Korean?

ML It’s all of the above. There’s definitely some responsibility and kinship because we have shared experiences. But it has to start with good art. The art scene in Korea is just becoming so exciting. The artists that are coming out of Korea, the museum shows, the whole buzz is more and more vibrant. But the quality has to be there first. You can’t just cheer for a team because you’re related to it. If, say, I’m collecting from Commonwealth and Council, which is run by two Koreans, it’s because they show good art. The additional bonus is that they happen to be two of the loveliest art people out there, in my opinion.

MM Who is on your wishlist right now?

ML There’s been a lot of sculpture on my list recently. Leilah Babirye, who has work in Venice. Dana Schutz – her paintings, but also her sculptures. I saw Willem de Kooning’s sculptures in Venice and they reminded me of Schutz: or vice versa. Then there’s a very quiet but beautiful piece by Amy Yao, which is a pile of rice in a corner, reminiscent of a Felix Gonzalez-Torres candy installation. Also the sculptor Rose B. Simpson.

MM So, for my last question: if there were a fire and you could save just one work, what would it be?

ML Easy! A Timothy Greenfield-Sanders photograph that’s hanging in my bedroom. He was a parent at my kids’ school and, at a charity fundraising event, he took a black-and-white photograph of them when they were around eight and ten. He perfectly captures my daughter’s idealism and my son’s brash, devil-may-care attitude. He just nailed their personalities, even at that young age.

This article first appeared in Frieze Week, Seoul 2024.

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Frieze Seoul, COEX, 4 – 7 September 2024.

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_{Main image: Haegue Yang, The Intermediate – Dragon Conglomerate, 2016}