ArtistSarah LeeResidesUnited States
Websitesrhlee.comMediumQuail and Chicken Eggshells
Resin
Metal
Epoxy clay
Print Shopsarah-lee-100019.square.siteEmails@srhlee.com
Follow the ArtistInstagramThemesAnimal
Nature
Evolution
Human impact on nature
Animal psychology

About the artist

Sarah Lee was born in San Francisco, and currently lives and works in the Bay Area. She is a self-taught sculptor, and most of the skills – welding, bondo, resin, fiberglass, and auto body painting – were learned from mechanics and body men working at her father’s auto body shop. She occupies a small room on the first floor of the auto body shop, which was originally a storage space and eventually became her studio. To this day, she is constantly learning from these men, who have now become good friends. The armatures of her bigger sculptures are made of welded scrap auto body parts salvaged from unfortunate customers’ cars in need of repair. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In stark contrast with her metal work interior structure, Sarah meticulously manipulates and glues organic materials: eggshells, to convey themes of fragility and vulnerability in her work.

Sarah is the 1st Prize Winner of the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Founders’ Emerging Artist Award, 2023 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize.

Artwork Themes & Subject Matter

Eggshells are fragile empty houses that are abandoned after birth; they become lifeless and no longer serve a purpose. Sarah Lee uses eggshells in her art to create, to up cycle, and to give another life to the material used. Eggshells and the scales of reptiles are similar in that they both provide a thin layer of protection, acting as a shield, but a vulnerable and fragile one. Sarah creates sculptures of animals that reveal fragility, vulnerability, insecurity, human emotions, awkwardness, odd self-inflicting behaviours, adaptation and survival. She crossbreeds Charles Darwin’s theory of “Survival of the Fittest” in order to enforce the power of adaptation and survival, to amplify these emotions that are underrepresented.

Press

Sarah Lee’s sculptures have been featured in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine

Upcoming Exhibitions

WhenExhibitionGallery
October
2024
Group exhibition: “Enchanted Kingdoms”Poetic Tiger Gallery
ID. United States
February
2025
Group exhibition: “Nautical Horizons”Poetic Tiger Gallery
ID. United States

CV

Education

2016 M.F.A. California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA. United States

2012 B.F.A. in Illustration Design, Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, CA. Unites States

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024

Ephemeral, Nanny Goat Gallery, CA. United States

2023

Serendipity, curated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Haven Gallery, NY. United States

2021

Altered & Reimagined, Village Theatre Art Gallery, Danville, CA. United States

Shift, Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, Lafayette, CA. United States

Lucid Dreaming, Curated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA. United States

2020

Small Footprint, Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, Lafayette, CA. United States

Holding Patterns, CCA Hubbell St, Galleries, San Francisco, CA. United States

Members show, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA. United States

2019

Cultivando Tiempo, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, CA. United States

Alma Mater: Methods, CCA Hubbell St. Galleries, San Francisco, CA. United States

My Mother’s Maiden Name, Root Division, San Francisco, CA. United States

Coastal, 1337 Gallery, San Rafael, CA. United States

Crocker Kingsley Show, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA. United States

Postcolonial Revenge, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, CA. United States

2018

Slice, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA. United States

Fresh Works VIII, Firehouse Art Center, Pleasanton, CA. United States

Message in a Bottle, Palace of Fine Art, San Francisco, CA. United States

Imperial Woodpecker, Firehouse Art Center, Pleasanton, CA. United States

Scientific Illustration, Fe Gallery, Sacramento, CA. United States

2017

WILD, curated by Marisa Aragona, Root Division, San Francisco, CA. United States

Detritus, curated by Kevin B. Chen, Lisa Ellsworth, Lordy Rodriguez, San Jose ICA, San Jose, CA. United States

Sweet n Low, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA. United States

Echame Aguas, curated by Glida Posada, Galeria de la Raza, San Francisco, CA. United States

Sarah Lee - Lizard Sculpture - 4
Sarah Lee - Armadillo Sculpture - 3
Sarah Lee - Lizard Sculpture - 1
Sarah Lee - Alligator Sculpture - 4

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