“In my head I have an imaginary room with a large blank canvas. Things are happening there all the time – I’m sketching, drawing, painting, and sculpting. In my studio, day and night, I try to transfer those mental images onto a real canvas. So long as I can spend time in these two rooms every day, I am a very happy artist.”

JungHee Lee-Marles is a visual artist based in Ottawa, Canada.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, JungHee has been passionate about art, especially drawing, from a young age. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts Education with a major in oil painting and a minor in sculpture. During her university years, she won awards in several art competitions and graduated with the title, “Recommended Artist of the Province.” She worked as an art teacher for a couple years before moving to Chicago, where she obtained a Master of Arts in Education.

In 1988, she immigrated to Canada, living first in Quebec and then Manitoba. For more than 10 years she participated actively in the art community, as an art instructor, artist-in-residence at several local schools, gallery assistant and art juror. She was awarded four grants from the Manitoba Arts Council, had several successful solo exhibitions, and participated many group exhibitions.

Residing in Ottawa since 2003, she has continued to create and exhibit works of art, to teach, and to volunteer in art activities. JungHee has had several solo exhibitions and participated in many group exhibitions, at venues including the Shenkman Arts Centre in Ottawa, Rotunda Gallery in Kitchener, Rebecca Gallery in Toronto, Agora Gallery in New York City, and Colorida Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal.

JungHee Has been the recipient of numerous awards including two exhibition grants from the Ontario Arts Council. Her works are held in the Government of Manitoba Art Collection, Kang Won University Art Collection in South Korea, and in many private collections all over Canada, the United States, and overseas.