bio/CV

Deanna Lee was born in Carmel, New York, to parents who emigrated from China and Taiwan, and she was raised in suburban Boston. After many years of classical music training on several instruments, she received degrees in art from Oberlin College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she studied at the Rome campus of the Tyler School of Art.

Her work comprises drawings, paintings, and site-specific drawing installations. She has had solo exhibitions at Robert Henry Contemporary, Wave Hill, PS122, and CRS in New York City; Earlville Opera House, New York; and Artemisia Gallery, Chicago. Her work has appeared in group shows at numerous venues, including: The Drawing Center, Abrons Art Center, NURTUREart, Trestle Projects, Pace University, Schema Projects, ABC No Rio, and Odetta Gallery in New York City; Rutgers University, in Newark, New Jersey; Aron Packer Gallery, Hyde Park Art Center, and Jan Cicero Gallery in Chicago; SPACES in Cleveland; George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia; Gallery Ho, Seoul, South Korea.

Lee’s public-art works include two murals along recreational paths, in lower Manhattan, commissioned by NYC Department of Emergency Management and the Office of Gale Brewer, Borough President, and in Flushing, Queens, commissioned by the NYC Department of Transportation; custom-designed tree guards in the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn; site-specific painting installations in Bay Ridge and DUMBO, Brooklyn; a billboard in Los Angeles; a mural on construction netting in L’Aquila, Italy; and a painted sculpture in New Rochelle, New York.

She has received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, a travel grant from the Asia Society in New York, the BRIC Media Fellowship in Brooklyn, the Manhattan Graphics Center Scholarship, the Linda Kramer Fellowship in Chicago, and two grants from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. She was a 2010 recipient of the Abbey Mural Fellowship from the National Academy. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Millay Colony for the Arts, Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts, Works on Water and Underwater New York, Appalachian Forest Stewardship, and C-Scape Dune Shack, Provincetown, Massachusetts. She was awarded residencies from Sanctuary Arcata, California, and Signal Fire, Oregon, which were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee lives and works in Brooklyn and Ridgewood, New York.

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SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018 — “Water lines, the city,” site-specific window installation, One Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn

2017 — “Rhythmic Continuity,” CRS, New York

2014-15 — “Echo Lineation,” Robert Henry Contemporary, Brooklyn

2012 — “Deanna Lee,” Robert Henry Contemporary, Brooklyn

2011 — “Recent Paintings and Drawings,” Earlville Opera House, Earlville, NY

2005 — “After (lightbox)” site-specific project, PS122 Gallery, New York

2003 — “Borrowed Views (The Wave Hill Paintings),” Wave Hill, Bronx, NY

2001 — “10,000 Offerings,” Linda Kramer Award exhibition, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago

1997 — “Points of Interest,” Edward Williams College, Hackensack, NJ

TWO/THREE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2012 — “Transformation,” Blank Space Gallery, New York

2011 — “Deanna Lee and Diane Banks,” Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

—- “Transcendental Pathway,” Empire Stores, DUMBO, Brooklyn

—- “Found Object,” Odetta, Brooklyn

—- “Adaptations to Extremes,” Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY

2018 — “Infinite Potentials,” SciArt Center exhibition at ArtCell (Cambridge, UK) and New York Hall of Science (New York City), in collaboration with the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute

—- “Monument in Miniature,” ABC No Rio (in Exile), Brooklyn

—- “Among Friends,” DUMBO Open Studios, Brooklyn

—- “Transitions,” Paul Robeson Gallery, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ

—- “The Art of Science,” Ligo Project, Brooklyn

—- “Sideshow Nation VI,” Sideshow, Brooklyn

2017 — “Et Tu, Art Brute?” Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York

—- “The Big Small Show,” Drawing Rooms, Jersey City, NJ

—- “Botanical,” Local Project, Long Island City

—- “Mapping Bushwick,” In-Case Art Projects, Brooklyn

—- “100 Works on Paper,” Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn

2016 — “Visual Inquiries,” Pace University, New York

—- “Falling In,” Trestle Projects, Brooklyn

—- “Made in Ridgewood,” Outpost, Queens

—- “Making the Future,” David & Schweitzer Contemporary, Brooklyn

—- “The Retrieval of the Beautiful,” The Painting Center, New York

2015 — “Holiday Salon,” Lorimoto, Queens

—- “IAM Pocket Sized,” Islip Art Museum, Islip, NY

—- “You’ve Got Mail,” Ground Floor Gallery, Brooklyn

—- Momenta Art Spring Benefit, Brooklyn

—- “100 Works on Paper,” Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn

—- “Weekend at the Old Gem,” Arts@Renaissance, Brooklyn

2014 — “Aqueous Fervor,” Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, New York

—- “Art Connections,” Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, NJ

2013 — “Beasts & Bodies,” Schema Projects, Brooklyn

—- “AS/AP,” AS Artists, Front Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn

—- “Curate NYC Top 150,” Rush Arts Gallery, New York

—- “Represent Brooklyn 2013,” The Rising Arts, Brooklyn

—- “Draw(n) Out,” George Mason University Fine Art Gallery, Fairfax, VA

2012 — “From the Boros,” Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York

—- “Anywhere But Here,” Artsicle / Gallery Bar, New York

—- “The Abstract Universe: Microcosm/Macrocosm,” Maloney Art Gallery, College of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ

2011 — “Year One,” Fowler Arts Gallery, Brooklyn

—- “Chain Letter,” Samson Projects, Boston, MA

—- “Transient Landscape,” galleryELL, Governors Island, New York

—- “Wanderlust,” Yes Gallery, Brooklyn

—- “The Emerging Landscape,” Society Contemporary Art, New York

—- “Expand and Conflate,” General Electric corporate headquarters, Fairfield, CT

—- “Brooklyn Takes on Alton!” Bartlett Gallery, Alton, Ontario, Canada

2010 — “Day Job,” The Drawing Center, New York

—- “galleryELL at The Loading Dock,” Brooklyn

—- Abbey Mural Workshop Fellowship exhibition, The National Academy, New York

—- “NorthBrooklyn,” The Renaissance Center of North Brooklyn

—- “Idle Time/Busy Mind,” NURTUREart, Brooklyn

—- “I Heart Art,” Work Gallery, benefit for The Wassaic Project, Brooklyn

2009 — NURTUREart benefit, New York

2008 — “The Circular Exhibition,” Hun Gallery, New York, and Gallery Ho, Seoul, Korea

2007 — Asian American Arts Alliance gala benefit, New York

2006 — “Trees of Knowing,” Abrons Art Center, Henry Street Settlement, New York

—- “Postcards from the Edge,” Visual AIDS, Sikkema Jenkins Gallery, New York

—- “Night of 1000 Drawings,” Artists Space, New York

2004 — “Art at Steepletop,” Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY

—- Matzo Files viewing program, Artists Alliance, Inc., New York

2003 — “Postcards from the Edge,” Visual AIDS, Galerie Lelong, New York

—- “Recession 2003,” Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York

2002 — Asian Contemporary Art Week open studios, Brooklyn

2001 — “I Wish I Thought of That: Performance Art History Repeats Itself,” spareroom, Chicago

2000 — “Photographic Imagination,” Here Here Gallery, Cleveland, OH

—- “ARTwork II,” Art Institute of Chicago

2000–07 — Artomat / Artists in Cellophane art vending machines (www.artomat.org)

1999 — “Altered Objects,” Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago

—- “Accumulations,” SPACES, Cleveland, OH

—- “Pattern Obsession,” Aron Packer Gallery, Chicago

—- “ARTwork,” Art Institute of Chicago

1998 — “Contemporary Abstraction Chicago,” Klein Art Works, Chicago

—- “Link: 22 Painters,” Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago

—- “Open Walls,” Premier Exhibition, Pi Gallery, Chicago

—- “Eclectic Visions: Working Artists Working,” Gruen Galleries, Chicago

1997 — “Just Good Art,” Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago

1996 — “Young Americans of Asian Ancestry,” Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago

—- “FLAT,” North and California, Chicago

—- “Paintbrush Ball,” Marwen Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

—- “Artist-Teacher Exhibition,” Marwen Gallery, Chicago

1995 — “New Talent II,” Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago

—- “Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition,” School of the Art Institute of Chicago

1994 — “Investigations into the Physical and Metaphorical Hole,” Gallery 2, Chicago

1993 — “Winter Show,” Harvard University Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA

PUBLIC ART PROJECTS

2018 — “Water lines, the city,” site-specific window installation, One Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn

—- “City’s Nature,” painted fiberglass sculpture, New Rochelle, NY

2016–18 — “Transformation Rhythms,” mural on construction scaffolding, Off-Site Art, L’Aquila, Italy

2015 — “AWGP3: L.A.,” billboard, The Billboard Creative, Los Angeles

—- “Hair/Wave/Cloud Culture,” mural on glass storefront, Bay Ridge SAW, Brooklyn

2012 — “Perpetual Nature,” mural on jersey barriers, NYC Department of Transportation, Queens

—- “Groundswell,” tree-guard panel design, Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, Brooklyn

2011 — “Curb Patches,” tape installation, Publicly Creative, CEC ArtsLink, New York

2010 — “In Plain Site,” vinyl mural on sidewalk shed, ArtBridge, New York

AWARDS / HONORS

2018 — Residency, Works on Water/Underwater New York, Governors Island, New York

2017 — Residency, Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts, NB, Canada

2016 — Residency/Expedition, The Clipperton Project, Campeche, Mexico

2013 — Residency, Arts@Renaissance, Brooklyn

2012 — Grant, Pollock-Krasner Foundation

—- Residency, Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, Ithaca, NY

2010 — Fellowship, Edwin Austin Abbey Mural Workshop, The National Academy

2008 — Residency, Catwalk Art Residency, Catskill, NY

2005 — Grant, Asia Society, travel to Vietnam and Cambodia

2004 — Scholarship, Manhattan Graphics Center, New York

—- Residency, Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY

—- Fellowship, BRIC Arts Media, Brooklyn

2001 — Fellowship, Linda Kramer Award and Exhibition, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago

1996, 1998 — Grants, CAAP, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs

SELECTED PRESS / BIBLIOGRAPHY

— “Deanna Lee,” LandEscape Art Review, anniversary edition, https://www.joomag.com/magazine/landescape-art-review-special-issue/0764802001485450198/p152?short.

— “Deanna Lee: After Eagle Drawings,” Lunch Ticket (winter/spring 2017), http://lunchticket.org/after-eagle-drawings/.

— “Deanna Lee: A relic, passageway, and (almost) kiss,” 3 Elements (fall 2016): 69, http://www.3elementsreview.com/journal-issues/3elements-review-fall-journal-issue-12-2016.pdf.

— “After Eagle: 2 and After Eagle: 6,” Stoneboat 7.1 (fall 2016).

— Yew journal, fall 2015, http://yewjournal.com/fall-2015/matina-stamatakis-deanna-lee/.

— Goodman, Jonathan. “The Pictorial: Deanna Lee on the Cusp of Figuration and Abstraction.” Art Critical, February 17, 2015: http://www.artcritical.com/2015/02/17/jonathan-goodman-on-deanna-lee.

— Looking at Painting 1 (2014), Leeds, UK.

— Duende 1 (2014): http://www.duendeliterary.org/deanna-lee/.

— Conner, Jill. “Making Waves.” Arts and Entertainment, Examiner, February 18, 2012: http://www.examiner.com/review/making-waves.

— Teran, Dan. “Studio visit: Deanna Lee: Between the Lines,” Artsicle blog, March 29, 2012.

— Stout, Richard. “Deanna Lee and Banks at the Courthouse Gallery.” Lake George Mirror Magazine, September 26, 2011.

— “Expand and Conflate,” curatorial statement, GE Cultural Fine Art Gallery, Picture That.

— The Drawing Center. “Day Job.” Drawing Papers 95 (2010).

— “Deanna Lee’s Paintings,” Design for Mankind blog, July 26, 2010.

— Landi, Ann. “Where the Art Happens.” ARTNews. (June 2010): 76–83.

— Versal magazine, vol. 8, May 2010.

— Bulka, Michael. “Five shows to see now.” Newcity. (February 8, 2001): 31.

— Glatt, Cara. “Local exhibit shows Asian influence.” Hyde Park Herald. (October 16, 1996): 8.

EDUCATION / PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

— ASI, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Creative Capital, New York, NY, May 2012.

— Publicly Creative, CEC ArtsLink, New York, NY, May 2011.

— IFA, Creative Capital, New York, NY, February 2011.

— Abbey Mural Fellowship Workshop, The National Academy, New York, NY, July 2010.

— School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL: M.F.A. Painting and Drawing, 1995.

— Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio: B.A. Studio Art and Art History, 1992.

— Tyler School of Art/Temple University, Rome, Italy, 1991.