Long ago on a hot summer day, a mysterious feeling swept over me when I encountered a stone tower in a temple. I felt as if I was meeting my ancestors for the very first time. Many years later, I experienced this feeling again when I saw a stone pagoda in a hallway at the Art Institute of Chicago. These memories and dreams, conjured from a different time and place, became subjects in my most recent works.

I yearn to create art that can encompass both the ancient and modern, from East and West. Inevitably I find unity between my conscious and subconscious worlds. I attempt to search for modernity in ancient myths, such as the story of the Sun and Moon God, and the story of Gold and Silver. I wander inwardly and continuously question myself while I work, until these seemingly conflicting dual images merge together in peace.

                                                      - Young June Lew