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KRISTY LEE
* Artist
* Sculptor
* Curator
* Podcaster
* Educator
* Content Creator
* Interviewer
* Speaker
Through my art, I am experiencing a metamorphosis in challenging myself through the creation of larger works, experimentation with media and pushing the boundaries of what I can create. This takes pushing myself to take risks as a part of my art making process. In this phase of my life, my practice in the studio allows me the freedom to leave a bit of my past self behind which was a nurturer as a mother. Now with children grown and on their own, I can nurture my newer self as a full-time artist.
The transition has been difficult but intuitive in that the work flows out naturally but is also a struggle. This is a part of my internal narrative which is constant fluctuation as I redefine myself. Being an artist and a mother is not a rigid identity, but rather is an intricate intersection of both.
These juxtapositions are a perpetual element in my work. I explore the balance between objectivity and subjectivity, control and chaos, realism and abstraction, individualism and archetypes. Inspired by the abstract expressionists, I translate a particular state of emotion on canvas through subconscious creation.
My intention is for these large-scale paintings to fill one’s vision and imagination with peripherals, momentarily removing the viewer from the physical world as they enter a state driven by color and emotions.
My approach to art is an approach to life - full of transitions, contradictions, experiments, disruptions, and conversations to encourage scrutiny of one’s environment, cultural standards of beauty, and natural creativity.
I am inspired by Jenny Saville who said, “I do hope I play out the contradictions that I feel, all the anxieties and dilemmas. If they're there in the work, then that's brilliant."
In considering what this means for me, it is about balancing the contradictions in art as influenced by life. My hope is that the viewer will experience my inner passion and relate to the work on a personal level.
EXPERIENCE
2022 - present - Represented by Contemporary Art Gallery USA, Director Tata Fernandez
Miami/ New York.
2022 - Director's Choice Award - Spectrum Miami
2021 - 2024 - "Art Talks with Kristy Lee"
2020 - present - Curator - Mills Gallery
SOLO SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS
2022 - Spectrum Miami - Miami, FL
2022 - M.A.D. Milano, Guardians of the Galaxy - Milan, Italy
2022, 2023 - Orlando Museum of Art - Hyatt Spring - Orlando, FL
2022 - Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival - Winter Park, FL
2021, 2022 - Winter Park Autumn Art Festival - Winter Park, FL
2020 - If The Bees Go, We Go, Mills Gallery - Orlando, FL
2020 - Unapologetic, Mills Gallery - Orlando, FL
2019 - Art Talks with Kristy Lee, Mills Gallery - Orlando, FL (Ongoing)
2019 - Androgyny, Mills Gallery - Orlando, FL
2019 - Consequence of Confidence, University Club Art Gallery - Orlando, FL
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS &EXHIBITIONS
2023 - Art Wynwood – Miami – Feb 16 – 19
2023 - Art Expo New York City Mar 30 – Apr 02
2023 - Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival - Winter Park, FL
2022, 2023 - Winter Park Autumn Art Festival - Winter Park, FL
2023 - Art Santa Fe July 14 - 16
2023 - Miami Context Dec 6 – 10
2023 - Scope Miami Dec 6 – 10
2023 - Collaborative Campaign for the Arts
2023 - Orlando Fashion Week Exhibit
2023 - Bergdorf Goodman - Oct - Jan
2022 - BrainCake M.A.D.S Milano - Dec 28 - Barcelona
2020 - Guardians of Dreams M.A.D.S Milano - Milan, Italy
2021 - Bella Donna, Orlando Museum of Art - Orlando, FL
2021 - Artist Collaboration, Hyatt Regency - Orlando, FL
2021 - Zenva Gallery - Winter Park, FL
2021 - College Park Gallery - College Park, FL
2021 - Orlando Science Center - Orlando, FL
2020 - BREAKOUT, M.A.D.S Milano - Milan, Italy
2020 - Featured Artist, Artsy Shark - Instagram
2020 - Pop Art Palooza, City Arts - Orlando, FL
2019 - The Power of She, 1st Thurs. Orlando Museum of Art - Orlando, LF
2019 - Support Our Scholars, Orlando Museum of Art - Orlando, FL
2019 - Art Exhibition, Eclat Law Offices, Art Exhibition - Orlando, FL
2019 - White Canvas Party, Mennello Museum of American Art - Orlando, FL
MEDIA, PUBLISHED ARTICLES, PODCASTS
2024 - Architectural Digest NY
2023 - Shit I Need To Know - Podcast
2023 - Harold Garde Web Series
2022 - Kiss My Art - Web Interview
2022 - One on One - Web Series Featured Interview
2021 - Orlando Arts
2020 - Vulnerable and Raw - The Ted Show - Podcast
2020 - Orlando Sentinel - Online Article
2020 - Orlando Sentinel - Print Article
2020 - Chase Shellee Show, Florida Man Radio - Radio Show
2020 - The World of Music - Radio
2020 - WESH Channel 2 News - TV Appearance
2019 - Baldwin Park Living - Featured Article
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Gallery at Mills Park -Orlando, Florida
Heitman, Greystar Building - (Location)
Personal residence of Harold Garde, American Artist - New Smyrna Beach, FL
Mount Sinai Hospital - New York City, NY
Francesco's Ristorante - Maitland, FL
Exclusive residence: NY, NJ, L.A., London, Norway, Miami, Orlando
EDUCATION
2020 - Yard School of Art - Montclair Art Museum, NJ
2019 - Art with Mike Snow - Saussignac, France
2019 - Art Center of Northern New Jersey - New Milford, NJ
2017 - The Art School Old Church - Demarest, NJ
2017 - Ridgewood Art Institute, Inc - Ridgewood, NJ
Crealde Art - Orlando, FL (Ongoing)
CHARITABLE DONATIONS
Donates to numerous charities, included are Support Our Scholars, Alzheimer Association, Kids Beating Cancer, Franklin's Friends and Zebra Coalition
TESTIMONIALS
“Working with Kristy Lee has been an absolute pleasure. Her unique vision and unparalleled talent shine through in every piece she creates. From captivating abstract to thought-provoking portraits Kristy Lee consistently delivers works that resonate deeply with audiences. Her dedication to her craft and commitment to pushing artistic boundaries, make her a true stand out in the art world. It’s an honor to represent such a gifted and inspiring artist.”
Tata Fernandez / Director Contemporary Art Gallery USA
“Not very often do I get to meet and work with artists who possess clear intentions, unwavering dedication, patience, perseverance and the hunger to understand their craft. Kristy Lee is one of these influencers. Some people are born with brilliant gifts at their disposal that they either utilize or totally disregard. Others, like Kristy Lee, are intuitively aware that they have a message that they need to share with the world.
The great joy in their lives occurs when they find their form of expression. And in my friend Kristy Lee’s case, painting and sculpture are the manners in which her thoughts and feelings are introduced to us.”
Boris Douglas Garbe / Gallerist Mills Gallery
“Kristy Lee is primarily known for her abstract mixed-media paintings that include collage elements and her ability to strike a canvas with extraordinary color and undertones makes for a beautiful celebration of color, figurative elements that shine with her ever-changing mind! She is a true contemporary painter! A twenty-first-century painter! A fresh departure from the traditional painters! Kristy Lee paints in what we call the now factor. She is unbreakable and driven, intense as she must put color on a blank canvas when the urge strikes her. Her ability to change is what is so fashionable about this painter. She is a purist in the sense of wanting to change, create and strive for the most extraordinary moment on a canvas. A modernist! Kristy Lee has mastered all movements and one thing is clear - her brush stroke is significant and easy to pick out in this busy world of art…that is what makes a great painter! “
Paul T Scarborough / Artist
"Kristy Lee's art speaks to me in a way no other art has with her vivid colors and imaginative play with texture. Her construct of shape and form on the canvas reach out to draw you in. And those eyes of the woman she paints tells strong stories of a life well lived. Just watch how they follow you around the room! I hung her art in a place of honor in my home, as it is well deserved!"
Dr. Diana Allen / CEO, SSI Group
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