Thursday, July 9, 2009

Bovey Lee: Tradition With a Twist

(Above) Childhood Torture –Pinching Cheeks, 20 x 16”, 2007
Definitely click on images for larger views!!

(Above) Little Crimes I, 19 x 19”, 2008
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(Above) Little Crimes I, Detail, 19 x 19”, 2008
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(Above) Office Tornado, 27 x 42”, 2008
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(Above) Office Tornado, Detail
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(Above) Tsunami I, 27 x 36.5”, 2008
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(Above) Tsunami I, Detail
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(Above) Tsunami I, Detail
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(Above) Tsunami I, Detail
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(Above) Power Plant I, 40 x 27”, 2008
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(Above) Power Plant I, Detail
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BOVEY LEE IS AN ARTIST WHOSE HAND CUT DESIGNS ARE DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE centuries old Chinese tradition of the cut paper art form. Lee is a serious artistic force in the continuation of an art form that is slowly dying in China.

The process of Bovey’s art is three-fold—hand drawing, digital rendering, and finally the long and tedious process 0f hand-cutting the images with an X-acto knife (with #11 blades!) Lee uses a template either below or above her rice paper, often leaving large sections blank for improvisation.

Born in Hong Kong and now a full-time artist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—Lee has been practicing Chinese calligraphy since the age of ten. Bovey later learned painting and drawing in her formative years and completed her BA degree in 1991 at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

In 1993, Bovey came to the United States to study as a painter at the University of California at Berkeley, where she earned her first MFA in 1995.

The advent of technology inspired Bovey to return to school in 1997 when she subsequently earned her second MFA in digital arts at Pratt Institute. Bovey lived in New York from 1996 to 1999.

In 2000, Bovey moved to Pittsburgh where she has been creating paper cutouts that combine her disparate expertise in both traditional and digital media since 2005.

Learn more about this fabulous artist by clicking here.

4 comments:

Hannah Stephenson said...

OH.

How are these pieces mounted? Are they attached by a single nail? Hanging with fishing line? They look weightless--I can't believe how intricate they are.

Anonymous said...

WOW! very cool...Gary

John Foster said...

Not sure how they are mounted. Perhaps she mounts between two layers of glass? Not sure.

LynneinChgo said...

Thanks so much for bringing this art to our attention. I am familiar with Chinese paper cuts, but have never seen any as magnificant as these.

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