Haerim Lee (aka Rim Lee)'s art stimulates dialogue with communities through painting, public murals, artist books, and photography. Her practice is rooted in ethnographical research: She investigates the history of an architectural site—such as the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, Cabrini Green, or the murals on the South Side of Chicago or in Gary, Indiana— and translating into in her studio practice. Her practice critiques of institutionalized demarcations of power. Originally from S. Korea, a monoethnic country, she is interested in racial dynamics, particularly in Chicago where she currently living in the neighborhood with diverse ethnicities from different backgrounds and cultural heritage. Unlike homogenous culture, living in the particular environment helps her to learn other people stories and create a learning space together. Although it creates racial complexities, it challenges to think power dynamics and how to understand one another.

Since 2009 she has exhibited with Korean Eye, an organization founded by David Ciclitira and curated by Daehyung Lee to promote Korean contemporary art to an international audience. Lee participated in Korean Eye: Moon Generation (2008) and Korean Eye: Fantastic Ordinary (2010) at the Saatchi Gallery in London, as well as Korean Eye’s 2011-2012 exhibition at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City. She worked as an instructor at Hannam University (2011) as well as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2019).

Lee graduated from the MFA Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Painting and Drawing Department as well as MA Program at the Visual and Critical Studies. She has had solo shows at Gallery Noone (2017) and Kasia Kay Art Project (2012) in Chicago, and Youngeun Museum of Contemporary Art (2012) in South Korea. She participated in group shows including The Body (2010) as a part of the Chicago Humanities Festival, Out of Context (2019) at Chicago Artist Coalition, Korean Eye: 2020 (2019), Artists Run Chicago 2.0 (2020) at Hyde Park Art Center, and Young Eunji Keeps Memories: Consistently (2020) at Youngun Museum of Contemporary Art in S. Korea. She was awarded the Downtown Gary Public Art Competition from the Legacy Foundation (2017) Make Together (2020) from the Hyde Park Art Center, and Ox-bow fellowship (2021). She was a resident artist in Hatch Projects Residency at the Chicago Artist Coalition (2018) , a Center Program Artist at the Hyde Park Art Center (2018), and Ox-bow: Conversation in Practice (2021) fellowship resident artist. She is currently a resident artist in Parlour and Ramp (2021).