Hannah Lee
Outlet, 2022
Oil on panel
16” x 20”
No matter how straightforward some of Lee’s realist scenes seem to be, their clarity tilts toward the dreamlike rather than the observed or remembered. Pressed to characterize her work, I would call it “liminal realism.” She depicts an uncanny situation so that it may initially strike the viewer as believable, which might be considered the opposite of surrealism. Lee’s work quickly and smoothly draws the viewer into its clearly defined space, yet resists immediate comprehension. I liked being in that ambiguous state, where seeing and knowing dance around each other without letting go.
- John Yau, Hyperallergic
Hannah Lee was born in 1989 in Madison, Wisconsin, obtained a BFA from Parsons School of Design, and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Lee made her solo debut at Entrance in 2021 with ‘First Language.’ Oftentimes her oil paintings are made using a layering technique in which the revisions made during the painting process are not fully erased and the outlines of previous attempts show through the new paint, giving the paintings a spectral, transient quality
Click images below to enlarge
Milk, 2020
Oil on panel
18” x 24”
Breakfast, 2023
Oil on panel
33 x 33 in.
Hallway, 2022
Oil on panel
36 x 36 in.
Limelight, 2023
Oil on panel
14 x 11 in.
Floor Painting 2, 2023
Oil on panel, wood, mirror
9 x 12 x 6 in.
Swimming Pool, 2022
Oil on panel
18 x 24 in.
Studio Light, 2023
Oil on panel
8 x 8 in.
Window Display, 2022
Oil on panel
24 x 36 in.
Outside, 2023
Oil on panel
30 x 24 in.
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Outside - Entrance, New York, NY
2021 First Language - Entrance, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Impending Doom - Superchief Gallery, Los Angeles, CAB
2022 Shifting Glances - Simone Subal Gallery, New York, NY
2022 Wonder Women LA - Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Solid State - Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines
2018 Melted City 4: in NYC - Yui Gallery, New York, NY
2018 Melted City 4: at RISD - ISB Gallery, Providence, RI
2018 Knowing Me, Knowing You - DGT Gallery House, Brooklyn, NY
2017 Melted City 4 - Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines
2017 Very Normal - 100 Rochester, Brooklyn, NY
2016 Girl Blood Info II - GBI Zine, Brooklyn, NY
2016 Gowanus Mutants - Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Brooklyn, NY
2015 Girl Room - Space Space Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2015 Melted City 2 - Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines
2014 Dime Bag 4 - The End is Near, Brooklyn, NY
2014 Hrönir - Brooklyn Fire Proof, Brooklyn, NY
2014 Holiday Art Show - Temporary Storage Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Away from the Numbers - Bunnycutlet Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Down Below the Feet - Park Life, San Francisco, CA
2013 Drawable - FLA Gallery, Gainesville, FL
2013 Old Wives Lies - AG Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 My Generation - Mayson Gallery, New York, NY
2013 In My Room - 619 Sixth Ave, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Urban Folk Art - Brooklyn, NY
2013 Society of Illustrators - New York, NY
2013 Reading Paintings - Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Single Fare 3 - RH Gallery, New York, NY
2012 One Hundred Dollars - Littlefield, Brooklyn, NY
2012 Permanent Collection - Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Illustration Program Senior Show - Parsons the New School for Design, New York, NY
Education
BFA - Parsons School of Design, The New School
Press
2023 Dreaming in the Afternoon Light - John Yau, Hyperallergic
2021 Hannah Lee’s Dreamlike Realism - John Yau, Hyperallergic
2021 Hannah Lee - Andrea K. Scott, The New Yorker