「Once upon a time（從前從前）」是每一則童話故事的開端，描述的是故事如何開始；《Once Upon a Memory》所關注的，則是故事如何留存在記憶裡。
在李奈珍的作品中，生命雖沿著線性時間持續向前，記憶卻總在某個瞬間將人帶回曾經停留的地方。本次展覽以《Once Upon a Memory》為題，並非將童話作為逃離現實的想像，而是將其視為一種理解生命經驗的方式。當 time 被替換為 memory，展覽所提出的，不只是語意上的轉換，更是一種對時間的重新理解：真正形塑我們的，未必是時間本身，而是那些在時間中反覆被記起、被遺忘，又再次浮現的記憶。
大雋藝術榮幸於2026年7月11日至8月30日推出韓國藝術家李奈珍（Najin Lee）個展《Once Upon a Memory》，邀請觀者走入藝術家以幼獸、王冠、珠寶與金色光澤所構築的寓言世界，重新思考記憶如何在時間中持續發生，又如何悄然塑造我們觀看世界的方式。
李奈珍長期關注成長、記憶與時間循環的命題。作品中，戴著王冠與珠寶的幼年動物反覆出現：純真凝視的兔子、神情靈動的幼虎、藍眼白貓、泰迪熊與幼獅，或置身於純白庭園，或與古典精裝書封融為一體，靜靜佇立於如舞台般展開的空間之中。牠們既不是童話角色，也不只是可愛的動物，而更像是一種跨越年齡的生命肖像——那個始終存在於每個人心中、從未停止成長的自己。
藝術家以 Great Gratitude! You have raised me, Oh wind and flowers!（風與花將我養大）作為創作系列的核心命題。風與花所指涉的並非具體的人事物，而是那些在生命中難以被命名、卻深刻塑造個體的力量。一次相遇、一段旅程、一場失落，甚至某個早已遺忘的瞬間，都可能在漫長歲月中持續發酵。如同風與花一般，它們輕柔而無聲，卻始終存在，並在往後的人生裡，以不同的形式再次浮現。
因此，作品中的王冠從來不是權力或榮耀的象徵。那些戴著王冠的幼獸，既可能是藝術家童年的化身，也可能是父母、孩子，或任何一位曾經歷成長的人。在李奈珍筆下，王冠更像是一種尚未完成的身份：它承載著孩童對成熟世界的想像，也映照出成人回望童年時，那份始終無法真正抵達「成熟」的矛盾感。於是，成長不再是一條筆直向前的道路，而是一場在人生不同階段反覆與自己相遇的過程。
李奈珍獨特的創作技法，也讓觀看成為一場緩慢的探索。她捨棄傳統筆觸，以自製顏料透過擠壓技法層層堆疊畫面，建立出具有雕塑感的肌理。隨著光線與觀看距離改變，畫面呈現出不同層次的光澤與陰影：遠觀時，觀者首先被金色王冠、珠寶與細膩質感所吸引；近看時，則逐漸發現隱藏於背景中的初生天使、歌劇院裡的音樂家與觀眾、迷你玩具收藏盒等細微圖像。這些被拆解、隱藏的故事並不急於被閱讀，而是在觀看的過程中，緩緩浮現。
《Once Upon a Memory》並非從「從前從前」開始，也沒有真正的結局。它更像是一則始終存在於記憶之中的故事，不因時間流逝而終止，而是在每一次回望時獲得新的意義。當我們凝視畫中的幼獸，也許真正被喚起的，不只是藝術家的童年，而是每個人心中，那個始終未曾離開、仍在時間裡持續成長的自己。
"Once upon a time" marks the beginning of every fairy tale—it tells us how a story begins. Once Upon a Memory, however, is concerned with how stories remain within us, long after they have been told.
In Najin Lee's work, life may unfold along a linear timeline, yet memory has the uncanny ability to return us to places we once inhabited. Rather than presenting fairy tales as an escape from reality, Once Upon a Memory proposes them as a way of understanding lived experience. By replacing time with memory, the exhibition offers more than a simple shift in language; it suggests a different understanding of temporality. What ultimately shapes us is not time itself, but the memories that continue to resurface—remembered, forgotten, and remembered once again.
Rich Art Gallery is pleased to present Once Upon a Memory, a solo exhibition by Korean artist Najin Lee, on view from July 11 to August 30, 2026. Through an allegorical world inhabited by young animals adorned with crowns, jewels, and luminous gold, the exhibition invites viewers to consider how memory continues to unfold across time and quietly shapes the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us.
Throughout her practice, Lee has explored themes of growth, memory, and the cyclical nature of time. Young animals wearing ornate crowns and jeweled necklaces recur throughout her paintings: rabbits with innocent gazes, spirited tiger cubs, blue-eyed white cats, teddy bears, and lion cubs. Some inhabit pristine white gardens, while others merge seamlessly into the covers of antique leather-bound books, standing quietly within theatrical spaces suspended between reality and imagination. These figures are neither fairy-tale characters nor simply charming animals. Instead, they become psychological portraits—embodying the part of ourselves that continues to grow, regardless of age.
The exhibition builds upon Lee's long-running series, Great Gratitude! You have raised me, Oh wind and flowers! Here, wind and flowers do not refer to specific people or events, but rather to the intangible forces that quietly shape our lives. A chance encounter, a journey, a moment of loss, or even a memory long forgotten may continue to resonate across time. Like the wind and flowers themselves, these experiences appear gentle and almost imperceptible, yet they remain with us, resurfacing in unexpected ways throughout our lives.
Within this context, the crowns worn by Lee's young animals are never symbols of power or authority. They instead represent an identity still in the process of becoming. The crowned animals may embody the artist's younger self, her parents, her daughter, or anyone who has experienced the uncertainties of growing up. The crown carries both a child's longing for adulthood and an adult's realization that maturity is never fully attained. Growth, therefore, is not a destination reached once and for all, but an ongoing process of repeatedly encountering oneself at different stages of life.
Lee's distinctive artistic technique further transforms viewing into a slow act of discovery. Rejecting conventional brushwork, she developed her signature Squeezing Technique, layering custom-formulated paints directly from tubes to create richly textured, sculptural surfaces. As light shifts and viewing distances change, the paintings continually reveal new visual dimensions. From afar, viewers are drawn to the luminous crowns, jeweled ornaments, and shimmering textures. Up close, hidden imagery gradually emerges from the background—newborn angels carrying flowers, musicians and audiences within an opera house, miniature display cabinets, and countless subtle narrative fragments. These concealed stories do not demand immediate attention; instead, they slowly reveal themselves through sustained looking.
Once Upon a Memory neither begins with "once upon a time" nor arrives at a definitive ending. Rather, it unfolds as a story that continues to exist within memory itself—a story that does not end with the passage of time, but acquires new meaning each time it is revisited. In gazing upon Lee's young animals, what resurfaces may not simply be the artist's childhood, but the part of ourselves that has never truly disappeared—the self that continues to grow, quietly, within the landscape of memory.
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Once Upon A Memory —— 李奈珍個展Lee Najin Solo Exhibition
⊹ 日期 Date｜2026.07.11（六Sat.）– 08.30（日Sun.）
⊹ 時間 Time｜週二至週日11:00-19:00 (週一公休Mon. Closed)
⊹ 地點Venue｜大雋藝術 Rich Art Gallery (408台中市南屯區惠文路489號)
