Catherine Lee (American, b.1950) is an American artist from Texas. Lee works in several media and has created oil paintings, bronze sculptures, and pen and ink drawings. Born in Pampa, TX, she used the surrounding landscapes as inspiration for some of her early works. Lee taught at the University of Texas in San Antonio and Columbia University in New York. She also served as the Artist in Residence at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design.
Lee started her career in the 1970s and focused on Modernism during this era. Art historians note that she used the basic grid of the canvas as the inspiration for her finished work. Lee frequently uses black and monochrome colors in her works because she believes it adds a hostile note to each piece. One of the first pieces in which she introduced more color was Nututun in 1989. This piece featured different shades of bronze with sharp lines. Lee started to experiment with larger pieces during the 1990s; at this time, she created works like Sibyl, which looked like a large stone. Lee continued to work with new forms of media throughout the 2000s by creating pieces with handmade ceramic elements.
Lee had her first exhibition in 1980 at The Institute for Art & Urban Resources in New York, NY. She later exhibited her work at the John Davis Gallery in Akron, OH, the Galerie Karsten Greve in Paris, France, and the Mizuma Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. Her recent showings include two solo shows at Kunsthaus Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden, Germany, and at the Keramikmuseum Westerwald in Hohr-Grenzhausen, Germany. Lee continually reinvents herself, introducing the art world to pieces that use new elements. Though many know her as a sculptor, she also experiments with watercolors, ink drawings, and sketches. Several museums around the world currently show her work, including the Galerie Karsten Greve in Paris, France, the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, TX, and the Galerie Lelong in New York. Lee currently divides her time between her homes in New York and Wimberley, TX, where she continues to work on new pieces.