Artist Statement:
Eric Jiaju Lee graduated from the prestigious Master of Fine Arts program at Hunter College. He exhibits regularly in the US and abroad, with works belonging to numerous private and corporate collections (USA: NYC, Fairfield County CT, Aspen CO, Bay Area, LA and San Diego CA, NJ, MA AP, OH) and internationally (UK, Canada, China, Germany, Philippines, Australia). His work belongs to several corporate collections such as The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Dixon Advisory, one of Australia’s leading financial institutions. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Lee is frequently covered in the press such as an extensive article in the Huffington Post, an exposé in CTPost, as well as publications such as Twist Magazine, 944 Magazine, TimeOut NY, GQ Magazine (Taiwan) and Sinovision TV. Lee is a professor of fine arts, an independent curator and a guest lecturer at museums and institutions in the greater New York area lecturing on topics such as Chinese Contemporary Art, Abstract Painting, Surrealist Art, Eastern Philosophy, The International Art Market and The Italian Renaissance, . From 2004 to 2008 he worked in Beijing, China in the renowned 798 Art District, where he maintained a part-time studio practice. Lee also maintained a full-time studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn from 2007 to 2016, where he helped to establish the growth of the area since it's early beginnings as a vibrant arts community and new epicenter of contemporary NYC arts. He recently relocated his base of operations to Greenwich, Connecticut, where he now resides. While Lee is best known for his work as an abstract painter, he is also practicing in various other visual media ranging from sculpture to figurative drawings, fashiort photography and art video. Recently he has been developing a body of blockchain based crypto art known as NFT’s (Non-Fungible Tokens) and delving into VR (Virtual Reality) and 3D printing technology to create his sculptures. He is also an accomplished musician. With his deep skillset and interests, Lee has a passion for collaboration across the disciplines and has played a role with notable dance, theater, and dance/theater productions in costume design, live painting, music, sound design, set design and video. To name just a few: the groundbreaking dance company, The Foundry, the innovative and Bessie award-winning performance company Red Dive, the internationally acclaimed ThingsezIsee’m Dance/Theater, and the production of Dictee: bells fall a peal to sky with the gifted dance/theater phenom, Soomi Kim. Not to be overlooked, Lee is an avid outdoorsman and rock climber and finds much of his inspiration through his direct interaction with nature and the wilderness.
