Michael Lee
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1960, Honolulu, Hawaii
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
Arrowmont School of Art and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI
The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Hawaii State Art Museum, Honolulu, HI
Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI
The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, HI
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2004-08 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
01-05, 07 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
01-04, 07 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2007 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005-07 Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Luce Foundation Center Media Project, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art
Museum, Washington, DC
Woodturning on The Edge, University of Idaho, Pritchard Art Gallery Moscow, ID
Contemporary American Woodturning, Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN
Woodturned Sculptures Too, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
Hawaii Craftsmen, Academy Art Center at Linekona, Honolulu, HI
Our Turn Now: Artists Speak Out in Wood, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
2005 Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Philadelphia, PA
2004 Twenty Five Years of Woodturning, Museum of Art, Provo, UT
Beneath The Bark: Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning, Museum of Art Provo, UT
2004 Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, University of Michigan
Museum Ann Arbor, MI
98-02,04 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Solo Exhibition, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Surface + Form, Craftwest Gallery, Perth, Australia
Collectors' Choice, Collectors of Wood Art Forum, SOFA, Chicago, IL
2001-02 Nature Takes a Turn, International Juried Exhibition,
Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN
University of California, Davis, CA
University of New York, Purchase, NY
Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
1999-02 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Turned Multiples, Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA
The Birthday Party, Brand Library and Art Center, Glendale, CA
Against the Grain: Turned and Sculpted Wood, McAllen International Museum,
McAllen, TX
Hawaii Craftsmen, Linekona Art Center, Honolulu, HI
2000 Contemporary Wood Vessels, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI
The Fine Art of Wood: The Bohlen Collection, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Living With Form: The Horn Collection of Contemporary Crafts, Arkansas Arts Center,
Little Rock, AR
Art in the Embassies Program, Truman Hall, Brussels, Belgium
1999 Collector's Choice, Collectors of Wood Art, SOFA, Chicago, IL
1998 Pathways, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH
Artists of Hawaii, Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI
1997 Moving Beyond Tradition, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Hawaii Craftsmen 30th Annual Exhibition, Academy Art Center, Honolulu, HI
1996 Artists of Hawaii, Cynthia L. Eyre Award for Young Emerging Artist, Honolulu Academy of
Art, Honolulu, HI
Growth Through Sharing, Guilford College Art Gallery, Greensboro, NC
1995 Pacific Handcrafters Guild, Award of Excellence, Honolulu, HI
1994 Turning Plus: Redefining the Lathe-Turned Object III, Arizona State University Art
Museum, Tempe, AZ
1994 Woods of Hawaii, Hawaii Forest Industry Association, Honolulu, HI
1993-94 Pacific Handcrafters Guild, Award of Excellence and Members Choice Award,
Honolulu, HI
1993 Association of Hawaii Artists, Honolulu, HI
Woods of Hawaii, Hawaii Forest Industry Association, Honolulu, HI
1992 Turner’s Dance, Florida Craftsmen Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2004 Woodturning, Wallace, Kevin, "Profile", Great Britian Woodturning Magazine, "Nature,
Intuition & Sculptural Vessels," Profile
Woodturing Magazine, "Long Distance Collaboration"
2000 Contemporary American Crafts, "Art in the Embassies Programme"
"The American Wood Shop", PBS Show, #902
1999 Wood Turning Magazine, Cover and Featured Article, March
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
My work begins first with a mental image. That image is then transformed to the physical reality through a combination of curves, surfaces, textures and a sense of surrealism. By building on different layers of surface treatments, I strive to emphasize not just the obvious visual representation, but the underlying complexities of the piece, that can only be fully realized through its tactile qualities. My hope is that the piece will speak through its own visual and tactile language.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
Arrowmont School of Art and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI
The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Hawaii State Art Museum, Honolulu, HI
Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI
The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, HI
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2004-08 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
01-05, 07 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
01-04, 07 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2007 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005-07 Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Luce Foundation Center Media Project, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art
Museum, Washington, DC
Woodturning on The Edge, University of Idaho, Pritchard Art Gallery Moscow, ID
Contemporary American Woodturning, Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN
Woodturned Sculptures Too, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
Hawaii Craftsmen, Academy Art Center at Linekona, Honolulu, HI
Our Turn Now: Artists Speak Out in Wood, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
2005 Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Philadelphia, PA
2004 Twenty Five Years of Woodturning, Museum of Art, Provo, UT
Beneath The Bark: Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning, Museum of Art Provo, UT
2004 Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, University of Michigan
Museum Ann Arbor, MI
98-02,04 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Solo Exhibition, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Surface + Form, Craftwest Gallery, Perth, Australia
Collectors' Choice, Collectors of Wood Art Forum, SOFA, Chicago, IL
2001-02 Nature Takes a Turn, International Juried Exhibition,
Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN
University of California, Davis, CA
University of New York, Purchase, NY
Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
1999-02 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Turned Multiples, Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA
The Birthday Party, Brand Library and Art Center, Glendale, CA
Against the Grain: Turned and Sculpted Wood, McAllen International Museum,
McAllen, TX
Hawaii Craftsmen, Linekona Art Center, Honolulu, HI
2000 Contemporary Wood Vessels, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI
The Fine Art of Wood: The Bohlen Collection, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Living With Form: The Horn Collection of Contemporary Crafts, Arkansas Arts Center,
Little Rock, AR
Art in the Embassies Program, Truman Hall, Brussels, Belgium
1999 Collector's Choice, Collectors of Wood Art, SOFA, Chicago, IL
1998 Pathways, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH
Artists of Hawaii, Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI
1997 Moving Beyond Tradition, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Hawaii Craftsmen 30th Annual Exhibition, Academy Art Center, Honolulu, HI
1996 Artists of Hawaii, Cynthia L. Eyre Award for Young Emerging Artist, Honolulu Academy of
Art, Honolulu, HI
Growth Through Sharing, Guilford College Art Gallery, Greensboro, NC
1995 Pacific Handcrafters Guild, Award of Excellence, Honolulu, HI
1994 Turning Plus: Redefining the Lathe-Turned Object III, Arizona State University Art
Museum, Tempe, AZ
1994 Woods of Hawaii, Hawaii Forest Industry Association, Honolulu, HI
1993-94 Pacific Handcrafters Guild, Award of Excellence and Members Choice Award,
Honolulu, HI
1993 Association of Hawaii Artists, Honolulu, HI
Woods of Hawaii, Hawaii Forest Industry Association, Honolulu, HI
1992 Turner’s Dance, Florida Craftsmen Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2004 Woodturning, Wallace, Kevin, "Profile", Great Britian Woodturning Magazine, "Nature,
Intuition & Sculptural Vessels," Profile
Woodturing Magazine, "Long Distance Collaboration"
2000 Contemporary American Crafts, "Art in the Embassies Programme"
"The American Wood Shop", PBS Show, #902
1999 Wood Turning Magazine, Cover and Featured Article, March
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
My work begins first with a mental image. That image is then transformed to the physical reality through a combination of curves, surfaces, textures and a sense of surrealism. By building on different layers of surface treatments, I strive to emphasize not just the obvious visual representation, but the underlying complexities of the piece, that can only be fully realized through its tactile qualities. My hope is that the piece will speak through its own visual and tactile language.