Trace by David Choong Lee Opening Reception

Heron Arts is pleased to announce Trace, a solo exhibition by David Choong Lee. The opening reception is September 12th, 2026 from 6-9pm. It is free and open to the public. The exhibition will be on view until October 29th, by appointment only.

Trace highlights the unseen fields of energy, earthly and cosmic momentum, and tension created by chaos and order. Although David has technical roots in classical realism, this collection reveals portals into undiscovered dimensions, influenced by graffiti, graphic design, collaborative projects, underground music, and the overall visual energy of San Francisco. Trace will present about 20 paintings and two large, assemblage-style installations that are physical embodiments of his formal paintings.

A principal part of the exhibition is David’s portrait-like works. Although the central shape does not represent a specific person or object, it captures a presence—a form that exists somewhere between the geometric and the organic. David’s exploration of shifts in perception allows an openness for creativity. He finds that when viewing something at different angles and distances, the form can change from rigid to fluid. It is in this moment that David finds the heart of his work: liminal energy. His journey through his expressive brushstrokes, futuristic landscapes, and seemingly psychedelic aesthetic leads him to the point of unearthing forms in their transitional state––when it is not quite one thing or another, but exists somewhere in between.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am interested in what cannot be seen, yet is constantly present—the energy that moves through the universe and the force that animates life. There are moments when something seems to appear only briefly: a movement, a presence, a shift in energy. It emerges, changes, and disappears before we can fully grasp it. Through painting, I try to hold onto these fleeting moments—not by describing them, but by allowing them to take form.

Perception is an important part of this process. What we see can change depending on where we stand. From one distance, a form may appear as a line, a circle, or a geometric structure. From another, the same form may become organic and fluid. I am interested in this space between what we see and what we sense, and in the possibility that different ways of seeing can reveal different aspects of the same existence.

I begin each painting without a predetermined image. I allow the painting to begin on its own, responding to what emerges rather than deciding what it should become. As the work develops, I spend a long time looking, changing, refining, and listening to what the painting is asking for. The process is both spontaneous and deliberate—a balance between allowing and shaping.

For me, painting every day is like setting out on a journey to a distant place. I leave with the hope that somewhere along the way I will discover a place I have never been before, a place worth finding. I do not know exactly where the journey will lead, but I continue to practice, to explore, and to put that hope into action.

I hope the viewer can feel something that cannot be directly seen: a presence, an energy, a life force, or a fleeting phenomenon of the universe. Something that appears for a moment and then disappears. My paintings are not meant to explain that moment, but to give it a place to exist—to be seen, sensed, and felt.

ARTIST BIO

Originally from Seoul, Korea, David Choong Lee has been a staple of San Francisco’s art scene for the past over 30 years. He moved out to San Francisco in pursuit of becoming a traditional fine artist. After years of focusing on the figure, he began to explore different concepts such as mixed media, sculpture and graphic design, and got influenced by such diverse sources as Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and underground music DJ scenes, and ended up creating his own artistic style that was combination of graffiti, collage, portrait, and classical realistic skill with bold graphic elements.

Also known for his elaborate assemblages composed of individual paintings on boxes on different depths, David deftly blends figuration with abstract dreamscapes, inserting realistically-rendered figures into explosions of shapes and kaleidoscopic colors. With these paintings, two massive installations in San Francisco at the Grand Hyatt in Union Square were completed.

David began to shift his gears from realism to abstraction since 2007, and has finally gotten to a point where he is ready to open a new chapter in his practice. Though he’s a veteran of the art world, he’s just getting started. He considers his abstract body of work as very personal. “When someone understands one of these paintings, it’s like they’re hugging me really deep from inside,” he said. Unlike his past realistic figurative work, his new imagery stems entirely from his imagination and is the result of laborious studies: painting and rearranging over and over to develop a new visual vocabulary.

David’s work has shown at many galleries and art fairs, and he has self-published number of art books– “God made dirt, and dirt don’t hurt”, “4WORDS”, “DIRT”, “Convergence”, and “Further” – and some of his books are distributed by [Gingko Press] to Europe and Asia. He’s been teaching art classes at foundation department of Academy of Art University since 1998, and currently lives/works in sunnyside, downtown San Francisco.

Heron Arts

Heron Arts was founded in 2013 by Mark Slee, an active member of San Francisco’s creative community, organizing events since the mid-2000s. He is joined in 2015 by director Tova Lobatz, who is pursuing ambitious programming that encompasses installations and experiential, interactive environments, alongside traditional gallery exhibitions. Collectively they hope to provide San Francisco with a fresh outlook on contemporary beauty in the arts.