Rosa Lee (artist)

Rosa Lee (1957–2009)[1] was a Hong Kong-born British painter, teacher and writer. She was known for her layered and textured paintings created using oil and wax[2] and constructed using lace-like stencils and spray through paper doilies.[3] “Lee’s paintings demand a shifting of critical categories towards a re-evaluation of the ‘merely’ decorative in painting.”[4]

She was selected for the John Moores Painting Prize in 1989, winning one of 10 awards given as part of the exhibition.[5] Her work is held in collections including The New Hall Art Collection at the University of Cambridge, Victoria Gallery and Museum at the University of Liverpool[6] and the Maclaurin Art Gallery at Rozelle House, Scotland.[7]

Her writing was published in academic and arts press, and included articles on feminism and painting,[8][9] the work of Bridget Riley,[10] and the working processes of painting and teaching.[11]

Lee studied art history at Sussex University, and painting at Saint Martin's and the Royal College of Art.[12] She was born in Hong Kong and died in London.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• Rosa Lee: Ellipsis, Winchester Gallery, Winchester, 1989[13]
• Rosa Lee, Todd Gallery, London, 1990[14]
• Rosa Lee: Paintings, Eagle House, London, 2012[15]

Group exhibitions

• (Dis)parities, Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield, 1992[16]
• Warped: Painting and the Feminine, Angel Row Gallery Nottingham, 2001 (and touring)[17]
• Simply Painting, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland, 2015[18]

References

1. "Rosa Lee | Artist | New Hall Art Collection Website". New Hall Art Collection. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
2. "Rosa Lee | Artist | New Hall Art Collection Website". New Hall Art Collection. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
3. Keen, Melanie. (1996). Recordings : a select bibliography of contemporary African, Afro-Caribbean and Asian British art. Ward, Elizabeth., Chelsea College of Art and Design., Institute of International Visual Arts. London: Institute of International Visual Arts and Chelsea College of Art and Design. ISBN 1-899846-06-9. OCLC 36076932.
4. Betterton, Rosemary (18 October 2013). An Intimate Distance: Women, Artists and the Body. Routledge. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-136-15562-8.
5. "John Moores exhibition 16". National Museums Liverpool. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
6. "Matrix | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
7. "Rebound No. 4 | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
8. Unframed : practices and politics of women's contemporary painting. Betterton, Rosemary, 1951-. London: I.B. Tauris. 2004. ISBN 1-86064-771-5. OCLC 52231651.
9. Lee, Rosa (1 July 1987). "Resisting Amnesia:1 Feminism, Painting and Postmodernism". Feminist Review. 26 (1): 5–28. doi:10.1057/fr.1987.17. ISSN 0141-7789. S2CID 143550651.
10. Lee, Rosa (1 November 1992). "Oblique glances: Rosa Lee on the contemporary gaze and the work of Bridget Riley". Women's Art Magazine (49): 7–10.
11. Fortnum, Rebecca; Houghton, Gill (1 April 1989). "Rosa Lee". Women Artists Slide Library Journal (28): 8–12.
12. "Simply Painting". Issuu. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
13. Keen, Melanie. (1996). Recordings : a select bibliography of contemporary African, Afro-Caribbean and Asian British art. Ward, Elizabeth., Chelsea College of Art and Design., Institute of International Visual Arts. London: Institute of International Visual Arts and Chelsea College of Art and Design. ISBN 1-899846-06-9. OCLC 36076932.
14. Lee, Rosa, 1957- (1990). Rosa Lee. Kent, Sarah, 1941-, Todd Gallery. London: Todd Gallery. ISBN 1-873043-00-7. OCLC 33045544.
15. "Rosa Lee: Paintings". Artlyst. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
16. Fortnum, Rebecca. (1992). (Dis)parities. Mappin Art Gallery. Sheffield: Mappin Art Gallery. ISBN 0-86321-158-5. OCLC 30033939.
17. "Warped: Painting and the Feminine". Issuu. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
18. "Simply Painting". Issuu. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2020.