ADAM LEE

The exhibition’s origins can be traced to a suite of exploratory drawings produced in early 2025. Often made on semi-transparent papers, these works capture fleeting impressions and fragmentary moments, like frottages that trace partial details from the vast visual archive Lee has gathered over many years. This process of collecting, layering, and re-imagining forms the foundation for the paintings that follow, where atmospheric worlds emerge through the merging of allegory and abstraction.

Lee’s practice draws upon a wide range of sources, including historical and family photographs, spiritual narratives, natural history, literature, and art-historical influences. These references intertwine with Lee’s own experiences, his travels, his encounters with museums and sacred places, his time spent in nature, and his reflections on the everyday. Among these inspirations, a particular text served as the catalyst for one of the exhibition’s key works: Paul Harding’s novel, Tinkers. A vivid passage from the book lingered in the artist’s mind for months and ultimately inspired the painting Leviathan.

The result is a body of work that feels intimate and mythic, deeply personal yet intertwined with shared cultural memory. Lee’s practice speaks to a contemporary moment marked by a renewed interest in storytelling, connection to place, and a yearning for deeper understanding of our shared humanity.