Polkadot Robe Polkadot Robe
Polkadot Robe 2021
Polkadot RobePolkadot Robe
Polkadot Robe2021
oil on canvas
95 x 78 cm
$10,000  ENQUIRE
Blue Swimmer Blue Swimmer
Blue Swimmer 2021
Blue SwimmerBlue Swimmer
Blue Swimmer2021
oil on canvas
75 x 55 cm
$7,000  ENQUIRE
Blue Agave Blue Agave
Blue Agave 2022
Blue AgaveBlue Agave
Blue Agave2022
oil on canvas
51 x 40.5 cm
$5,000  ENQUIRE
Seated Woman with Dog Seated Woman with Dog
Seated Woman with Dog 2022
Seated Woman with DogSeated Woman with Dog
Seated Woman with Dog2022
oil on canvas
52 x 42 cm
$5,000  ENQUIRE
Woman Wearing Green Woman Wearing Green
Woman Wearing Green 2022
Woman Wearing GreenWoman Wearing Green
Woman Wearing Green2022
oil on canvas
66 x 58 cm
$6,000  ENQUIRE
Polkadot Robe Polkadot Robe
Polkadot Robe 2021
Polkadot RobePolkadot Robe
Polkadot Robe2021
oil on canvas
95 x 78 cm
$10,000  ENQUIRE
Mykonos cat #1 Rhys Lee Rhys Lee - Mykonos cat #1
Mykonos cat #1 2023
Mykonos cat #1Rhys LeeMykonos cat #1
Mykonos cat #12023
ink on paper
42 x 29.7 cm
$1,900 FRAMED  ENQUIRE
Blue Swimmer Rhys Lee - Blue Swimmer
Blue Swimmer 2021
Blue SwimmerBlue Swimmer
Blue Swimmer2021
oil on canvas
75 x 55 cm
$7,000  ENQUIRE
Mykonos cat #2 Rhys Lee Rhys Lee - Mykonos cat #2
Mykonos cat #2 2023
Mykonos cat #2Rhys LeeMykonos cat #2
Mykonos cat #22023
ink on paper
42 x 29.7 cm
$1,900 FRAMED  ENQUIRE
Blue Agave Rhys Lee - Blue Agave
Blue Agave 2022
Blue AgaveBlue Agave
Blue Agave2022
oil on canvas
51 x 40.5 cm
$5,000  ENQUIRE
Mykonos cat #3 Rhys Lee Rhys Lee - Mykonos cat #3
Mykonos cat #3 2023
Mykonos cat #3Rhys LeeMykonos cat #3
Mykonos cat #32023
ink on paper
42 x 29.7 cm
$1,900 FRAMED  ENQUIRE
Seated Woman with Dog Rhys Lee - Seated Woman with Dog
Seated Woman with Dog 2022
Seated Woman with DogSeated Woman with Dog
Seated Woman with Dog2022
oil on canvas
52 x 42 cm
$5,000  ENQUIRE
I'm sailing right behind Rhys Lee Rhys Lee - I'm sailing right behind
I'm sailing right behind 2023
I'm sailing right behindRhys LeeI'm sailing right behind
I'm sailing right behind2023
oil on canvas
116 x 94 cm
$12,000  ENQUIRE
Woman Wearing Green Rhys Lee - Woman Wearing Green
Woman Wearing Green 2022
Woman Wearing GreenWoman Wearing Green
Woman Wearing Green2022
oil on canvas
66 x 58 cm
$6,000  ENQUIRE
Mykonos cat #4 Rhys Lee Rhys Lee - Mykonos cat #4
Mykonos cat #4 2023
Mykonos cat #4Rhys LeeMykonos cat #4
Mykonos cat #42023
ink on paper
42 x 29.7 cm
$1,900 FRAMED  ENQUIRE
Rhys Lee

Despite a career that spans over 25 years, Rhys Lee still finds it difficult to accurately define his art practice. His works are figurative inasmuch as recognisable faces, characters and objects appear across the canvas, but they are seldom directly representational. Equal parts abstract and impressionistic, with underlying traces of his early career in graffiti art, the works depict his personal thoughts and emotions - contemplations on the human condition that capture the current zeitgeist.

Though he prefers not to over-explain his process, Lee sees himself first and foremost as a colourist - imagery is a means to support the forms, tones and themes he’s exploring. Whether working in a rhythm that is physical and expressive or slow and cathartic, his primary concern is the colour palette and the intuitive application of paint.

A graduate of the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University (Bachelor of Visual Arts, 1997), Rhys Lee has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions through Australia and internationally, including Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States. A finalist in the Archibald Prize (2012), Beleura National Works on Paper (2010), Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize (2009), Doug Moran Prize (2009), the University of Queensland Art Museum National Self-Portrait Prize (2009), Swan Hill National Print and Drawing Acquisitive Awards (2000), his work is held in major Australian and international collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, the University of Queensland Art Collection, National Library of France, United Bank of Switzerland, Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art Belgium, BHP Billiton and Sotheby’s.

Carrie McCarthy, August 2023

Born 1975, Brisbane

EDUCATION

1997

  • Bachelor of Visual Arts, Queensland College of Art

    SOLO EXHIBITIONS

    2023

    • 'Sometimes I’m a Tree', Dio Horia Gallery, Athens, Greece

    • 'Recent Painting', Omni Gallery, London United Kingdom

    • 'Recent Paintings', Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne

      'Recent Paintings', Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium

    2022

    • 'Applism', NBB Gallery, Berlin, Germany
    • 'Recent Paintings', Melbourne Art Fair, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne

    2021

    • 'Recent Paintings', Dimitri Lorin Gallery, CA, USA
    • 'Recent Paintings', Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne

    2020

    • 'Recent Paintings', Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne
    • 'Singles & B-Sides', Paul Nache Gallery, Gisborne, New Zealand

    2019

    • 'Recent Paintings', Galerie Julien Cadet, Paris, France
    • 'Recent Paintings', Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne

    2018

    • 'Survey Exhibition', curated by 333 Art Projects with Nicholas Thompson Gallery for the Clayton Utz Art Partnership, Clayton Utz, Melbourne
    • 'Good Boy', Olsen Gruin, New York, USA
    • 'Whistle World', Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne
    • 'Recent Paintings', Olsen Gallery, Sydney

    2017

    • '10 Paintings & 100 Drawings', Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
    • 'A Knife Through A Hand Through A Table', Ruttkowski;68, Cologne, Germany
    • 'Riders', Paul Nache, Gisborne, New Zealand

    2016

    • 'SPIT SHINE', Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne
    • 'Jungle Rum Rumble', Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

    2015

    • 'The Mask of the Female Crane Fly', Nicholas Thompson Gallery at Sydney Contemporary

    2014

    • 'Long Knives', Art House Gallery, Sydney
    • 'Kooka Snake Clown', The Art Park #7 Artist in Residence, Byron Bay
    • 'Recent Works', Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
    • 'A Bag Of Ears', Utopian Slumps, Melbourne

    2013

    • 'New Work', JCP Studios, Melbourne
    • 'Drawing Wall #12', Shepparton Art Museum, Victoria
    • 'New Work', Utopian Slumps, Melbourne
    • 'Cracked Pots', Venn Gallery, Perth

    2012

    • 'New Work', Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

    2011

    • 'Scarecrow', Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne

    2010

    • 'Rhys Lee', Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
    • 'The Collaborative Work of Jeremy Kibel and Rhys Lee', Block Projects, Melbourne

    2009

    • 'Everglades Cavalier', Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne

    2008

    • 'New Paintings', Olsen Gallery, Sydney
    • 'Ripple People', Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
    • 'Works on Paper', Apartment 2c, 152 Ludlow Street, New York, USA

    2007

    • 'Helen Gory Galerie', Melbourne
    • 'Snake', Olsen Gallery, Sydney

    2006

    • 'Gaggedfix', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne

    2005

    • 'Twinkles Twinkle', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne
    • 'Rhys Lee', Art Galleries Schubert, Gold Coast

    2004

    • 'Salads & Forecasts', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne
    • 'Squad of Crack Two', Volume Gallery, New York, USA
    • 'Squad of Crack', Melbourne Next Wave Festival
    • 'Melbourne Mountain peaks but not always', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne

    2003

    • 'Capitol Hill Rooting King', RMIT Gallery, Melbourne
    • 'Try This In The Forest At Once', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne

    2002

    • 'Thoop Bort', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne

    2001

    • 'Dries Instantly', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne
    • 'Untitled', Rubyayre Gallery, Sydney
    • 'Untitled', Loft Gallery, Brisbane

    2000

    • 'It’s Not About Them', Rubyayre Gallery, Sydney
    • 'Stealing By Finding', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne

    GROUP EXHIBITIONS

    2022

    • 'Familiar Faces', Mini Galerie, Amsterdam, Netherlands
    • 'Natural Selection', Room57 Gallery, New York, USA

    2021

    • 'Paperworks Vol 2', NBB Gallery, Berlin, Germany
    • 'See You All', Alice Gallery, Brussels Belgium
    • 'Eccentric Riders', Galerie Julien Cadet Gallery, Paris, France.
    • 'Stay Tuned', WOAW Gallery, Hong Kong, China
    • 'Caterpillar', Galeri Slika, Lyon, France

    2020

    • Zoo, MIMA Museum/Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
    • 'DONTGIVEADAMNS' curated by Sasha Bogojev, Marian Cramer Gallery, Amsterdam
    • 'Five Years', Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne
    • 'Without Warning', Avenue des Arts, Los Angeles, USA
    • 'The Dividing Line', Fluorescent Smogg, UK (online)

    2019

    • 'Vignettes', Richard Heller Gallery, CA, USA
    • 'Galerie Julien Cadet', Montpellier, France
    • 'Mixed Pickles #5', Ruttkowski;68, Germany
    • Art Los Angeles Contemporary, Richard Heller Gallery, CA, USA
    • Gorman: Ten years of collaborating, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne

    2018

    • '18-XCI', Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
    • 'Monomania', George Gallery, New York, USA

    2017

    • 'PABLOPABLOPABLO', Cabinet Printemps, Dussledorf, Germany

    2016

    • Group Show, BEERS London, United Kingdom
    • Summer Exhibition, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne

    2015

    • Opening Exhibition, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne
    • 'Bad Painters', Sheffer Gallery, Sydney
    • 'More Love Hours', The Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne

    2012

    • 'New Work', Melbourne Art Fair, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
    • Archibald Prize, Art Gallery NSW, Sydney
    • 'Basic Instinct', Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne

    2011

    • 'Straddie', Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

    2010

    • Mclean Edwards, Rhys Lee, Fiona Lowry, Heather B. Swann, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne
    • 'Immemorial', 24HR ART, Northern Territory
    • 'Beleura National Works on Paper', Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria
    • 'The Navigators', Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne

    2009

    • The University of Queensland National Artist’s Self-Portrait Prize, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
    • Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
    • Doug Moran Prize, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney
    • 'Unnaming of Parts', Blackston Gallery, New York, USA
    • 'Head', Rex Irwin Gallery, Sydney

    2008

    • NEW: Selected Recent Acquisitions, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
    • Group Show, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
    • 'Adrift', Queensland State Library, Brisbane
    • 'Art for Sharks', Australian Marine Conservation Society, Brisbane
    • 'Neo Goth Back in Black', University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
    • 2 x 2 Group Exhibition, Tim Olsen Gallery Annex, Sydney
    • 'Figure In a Landscape', Rex Irwin Gallery, Sydney
    • 'Contemporaneous: Australian Contemporary Painting 1', Wangaratta Exhibitions Gallery, Victoria

    2007

    • 'Group Show', Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

    2005

    • 'Group Exhibition', Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne

    2001

    • 'Fresh Conference', Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Sydney
    • 'Aviary', Patrizia Autore Gallery, Melbourne

    2000

    • 'Group Exhibition', Rubyayre Gallery, Sydney
    • Swan Hill National Print and Drawing Acquisitive Awards, Swan Hill Regional Gallery, Victoria

    1999

    • The Hutchins Art Prize, Salamanca Place, Tasmania
    • Power House Centre For The Arts, Brisbane

    COLLECTIONS

    National Gallery of Australia

    National Library of France

    BHP Billiton

    MIMA Museum

    Artbank

    Sotheby’s

    United Bank of Switzerland

    University of Queensland Art Museum

    Private collections in Australia, USA, Spain, Canada, Germany, UK, Portugal, Denmark, Israel, Belgium, France

    September 12, 2023

    RHYS LEE FEATURED IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF BEAUTIFUL BIZARRE

    RHYS LEE is featured in Issue 42 of Beautiful Bizarre.

    Leesa Hickey, Director of Side Gallery in Australia, has selected 8 works in the market that she wishes to add to her personal collection. Amongst these 8 works is Rhys Lee's 2021 Polkadot Robe.

    READ MORE HERE

    Image:

    Polkadot Robe 2021
    oil on canvas
    95 x 78 cm

    April 22, 2020

    JUXTAPOZ ART AND CULTURE CHECKS IN ON RHYS LEE

    From a Feature in Juxtapoz Magazine online —

    'Continuing our mission to check with friends and favorite artists around the globe, we virtually traveled all the way to Victoria, Australia, to check on what's happening with Rhys Lee. Based in a small coastal town located southwest of Melbourne, the artist is a whirl of activity as he intensively works on new paintings.'

    READ MORE HERE

    May 22, 2010

    AN ESSAY BY DR ASHLEY CRAWFORD

    Dr Ashley Crawford is a freelance cultural critic based in Melbourne, Australia.

    Read an article by Ashley Crawford on artist Rhys Lee HERE

    Image courtesy NBB Gallery, Berlin

    To join Rhys Lee's preview list for new work, please add your details below