QT Auckland in Bloom; Hye Rim Lee in Residence

From 7 April to 8 June, QT Auckland welcomes internationally acclaimed artist Hye Rim Lee as our Artist in Residence – an immersive collaboration that blurs the lines between art, hospitality, and sensory experience.

Arriving as part of the 2026 Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail, Lee’s presence transforms QT into a living gallery. Her striking Gold Rose sculpture blooms at the entrance of Esther Restaurant—a luminous welcome that sets the tone from the very first step inside. Her iconic Rose prints will be displayed throughout the lobby, while the culinary minds at Esther have taken inspiration one step further—translating art into taste with a limited-edition Gold Rose dessert and a gilded cocktail, each echoing the elegance, symbolism, and surreal beauty of Lee’s work.

Meet the Artist

Hye Rim Lee is a pioneering force in 3D animation, with over two decades of experience shaping complex, cinematic digital worlds. Known for her ability to merge technical precision with emotional depth, her practice is what she describes as a “Beyond Journey”—an ever-evolving exploration of narrative, symbolism, and the sublime.

With over 300 exhibitions worldwide, Lee’s work spans animation, sculpture, photography, and performance. Her latest chapter sees her translating digital imagination into physical form, most notably through Gold Rose, a sculptural piece that bridges the virtual and the tangible with striking clarity.

In Conversation with Hye Rim Lee

Can you tell us about your journey into art and how your practice has evolved over time?
I call my creative practice a “Beyond Journey.” Over 24 years, I’ve built a foundation in 3D animation, developing both technical precision and creative direction.

I am now taking on a new challenge – transforming digital experiences into sculptural form through a world of narrative that encompasses symbolism and the sublime. This ambitious large-scale project combines the skills of 3D animation modelling with material craftsmanship to create works that are expansive, technically precise, conceptually rich, and visually distinctive.

Over the past 24 years, I have created numerous bodies of work ranging from the TOKI Project and Rose Series to Swan Lake Project, testifying to my ability to produce complex and conceptually driven works, including 25 completed animation projects, 5 major sculpture projects, numerous digital photography series, and a series of performance.

Where do your ideas usually begin?
I grew up in the theatre, as my father was a pioneering director in Korean theatre who also directed Western opera and ballet. I was trained as a classical musician and opera singer until I lost my singing voice due to a tonsil operation. My family was deeply immersed in classical music – my mother was a soprano and my sister a pianist – so music is truly in my bones.

I have always dreamed of bringing theatrical elements into my animation, drawing on my wide-ranging musical sensibility – from classical to avant-garde and electronic – to create a unique, contemporary spectacle of my own. My musical background, which began with singing at the age of three, combined with the rich experience of growing up on stages that blended opera, ballet, theatre, and film, has deeply shaped my artistic foundation.

Alongside this, my personal experiences – overcoming cancer and the grief of losing my entire family in my twenties, have profoundly influenced my work. My ideas often begin from this intersection of memory, emotion, and imagination. I aspire to weave all these elements – freedom, beauty, image, and sound – into each piece, in the hope that my work can inspire others and offer a sense of healing and restoration.

Do you have any rituals that help you get into a creative flow?
I enter a quiet, immersive state, surrounded by visual references, music, and light. I also spend time in meditation, allowing ideas to emerge naturally. Creativity, for me, is something that unfolds from within.

What does your creative process look like when starting a new piece?
There is always a story waiting. I try to unfold the story I’ve been writing, then research visual stimuli, sound, and references. Once the idea becomes more defined and sketched, I move into material experimentation – then the drama begins. Creating a new sculpture involves a constant process of translation between digital precision and physical unpredictability.

Are you led more by concept, emotion, or visual form?
All three are interconnected in my work, but the concept provides the structure as a starting point, emotion adds story, drama, and mood, and visual form becomes the language through which it is expressed.

How long did Gold Rose take to come to life?
Gold Rose developed over an extended period, evolving from my earlier White Rose animation (2022) into a sculptural form (2026). From the initial concept to installation, it took many months of refinement, experimentation, and collaboration with Deborah McCormick at DMC Art to resolve both its technical and symbolic dimensions.

What was it like bringing Gold Rose from a digital world into physical form?
It was both exciting and challenging. In the digital world, forms can exist without limitation, but in physical space, materials introduce weight, fragility, and resistance. Working with glass-like surfaces and gold required me to rethink how the form behaves – how it holds light and how it occupies space.

At the same time, it was incredibly rewarding to see something once virtual become tangible, allowing viewers to experience it with their bodies, not just their eyes. Gold Rose reflects my ongoing commitment to bridging the digital and physical worlds, transforming virtual imagination into material presence.

As a public artwork, it engages audiences of all ages, turning its surroundings into a poetic garden of light and reflection. Through this fusion of digital vision and craftsmanship, I hope the work transcends boundaries, evokes wonder, and brings a sense of elegance, fantasy, and love into the shared cultural landscape.

What does Gold Rose represent to you?
It symbolises purity, rebirth, and transformation. Gold speaks to eternity, divinity, and the evolution of identity.

If Gold Rose had a soundtrack, what would it be?
It would be a quiet, glowing soundscape, where each note stretches like light through space, evoking love, serenity, and the slow revelation of eternal beauty.

What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d love to?
I’d love to create a fully immersive world where sculpture, animation, sound, and architecture coexist. I would also like to create a theater dance piece or opera in which the stage design is shaped entirely by my animation.

What are you currently inspired by?
My inspiration comes from the Creator of the universe, God. Nature – especially the vast ocean and the scent of the sea, is my greatest source of visual and sensory stimuli. I also draw inspiration from contemporary fashion and immersive installations, where identity and fantasy are constantly being reimagined.

Three words that describe you as an artist?
Transformative. Tenacity. Cinematic.

What do you hope people feel when they encounter Gold Rose at QT?
I hope they feel a sense of wonder and emotional resonance, as if stepping into a dreamlike space where time slows down. I want the work to evoke beauty, reflection, and a quiet sense of connection, inviting each viewer to project their own memories and desires onto the sculpture.

Experience Gold Rose at QT Auckland

Whether you’re sipping something gilded at Esther or simply passing through the lobby, this is your invitation to pause, look closer, and lose yourself, just for a moment, in something golden.