Growing up in Henderson, Nevada, Taylor Lee (b.1981) was gifted Japanese comic books that had been translated into Korean. With almost no Asian cultural presence in the suburban community 20 minutes from the Las Vegas strip, these comics, along with VHS Animes culled from the only Asian store in the neighborhood, became Lee’s access point to Asian culture. 

In the midst of the anxiety caused by the pandemic, Lee found refuge in the whimsical Japanese characters that had featured so heavily in her childhood. Crafting their cartoonish expressions and exaggerated forms became a therapeutic act, one that allowed her the space to grapple with nostalgia on a more conceptual level.

In her examination of representations of the female body, Lee continues to explore ideas of reminiscence and lost histories. Lee's joyful and optimistic depictions of women fuse past and present, pop culture and folk art, whimsicality and sentimentality. Faced with her female models, the viewer has the opportunity to consider how, for much of history, the idolized feminine archetype was voluminous and curved. In the wake of our current shift toward progressive notions of the body, Lee’s forms remind us of the openness that can be found in the past, and shine light on modern-day tendencies and normative culture.

Lee received her BA in Ceramics at the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV (2005), and subsequently studied Fashion Design Merchandising at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, CA (2014). She has been the subject of solo/duo exhibitions at Ojiri Gallery, London, UK (2024); Long Story Short Gallery, New York, NY (2022); Over the Influence, Hong Kong, CN (2022); Over the Influence, Los Angeles, CA (2021); and Giant Robot, Los Angeles, CA (2020). She was selected for residencies at NARANJO 141, Mexico City, MX (2023) and Casa Balandra, Majora, ES (2023). Lee currenlty lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

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