Christine Lee

Christine Lee is an Oakland based artist whose work crosses back and forth between sculpture, furniture/woodworking and installation. Constructed from highly process-driven endeavors and in-depth material exploration, her work stretches the typical associations, intended functions, and final destinations of mundane materials.

Lee has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States, including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, and the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts. Her recent installations, influenced by a deep appreciation for architecture and the natural environment, were on display last fall at the University of Arkansas- Little Rock, Stanford University and the Aspen Art Museum. She is currently the resident artist at SF Recycling and Disposal, Inc. and a lecturer at the California College of the Arts.

I view the original purpose of any material as merely a suggestion or starting point for a multitude of possibilities. With that in mind, I choose to spend a considerable amount of time on a material exploration through processes of manipulation, rearrangement, and deconstruction. My current investigation lies in the reuse of materials. From sources such as surplus, liquidator and thrift stores, I collect items ranging from fire hoses to sweaters. Mundane, repetitive tasks such as coiling, folding, interlacing, and stacking allow me to develop an understanding and appreciation for a material beyond it's common associations and intended function. Experimenting with multiples of a material allow me to work through a variety of configurations and offer me opportunities for discovery. The resulting objects, forms and installations weave my deep appreciation for the environment with the tactile experience. The sense of repetition, rhythm and refinement applied to the pieces reveal my internal cadence that is meditative but at the same time, concerned by our society's abusive pattern of production and waste.