Christopher Lees ethereal landscapes elude the gamut of reality, and not merely because they are in fact works of fiction. It is the capturing of both the essence and various facets of Australia’s natural composition that make the regional Victorian artists work so eerily “out of this world.”
Lees’ adeptly awes the viewer with his depictions of plunging cliff faces, mossy islands and littered mountainsides morphing into gigantic iridescent animals, and he does so with the cunning of a well-rehearsed pic-pocket. His paintings are no more surprising as they are convincing that the monolithic amalgamations of flora and fauna merge so seamlessly that they appear to be a recounting of fact rather than fiction.
It has been said that “Lees captures the sacred essence of natural forms with a fluidity and mastery of technique.” Indeed, Lee harvests memories from his day-to-day dealings in and with the natural landscape that he later references. Lees’ process is uncomplicated, neigh “old-school”, from sketch (to establish composition) then onto canvas for painting, a simple process that directly opposes the complexity of the work it produces; landscapes that are distillations of both the ancient and supernatural.
Quite the enigma, Lee manages to turn the gnarly into something beautiful. As Lees explains; “Although I have travelled to many places in Australia, the paintings don’t depict a specific place…The Australian landscape is an enigma of nature’s imagination. I try to illustrate this concept in my paintings. In my canvasses no picturesque European gardens or manicured lawns are in evidence, but gnarly, craggy, primeval escarpments that plummet into the abyss. The landforms are not easily accessible, viewed only by floating on the deep black liquid with no floor, or birdlike, hovering over this strange land in a dreamlike trance. There are no sounds, no winds or signs of life, but fragments of familiar motifs such as boulders, trees and occasionally fence lines that suggest enigmatic past habitations. I try to represent the Australian bush with emotions that can’t be written down. I want the viewer to feel alone, at peace, and privileged to behold this surreal landscape”.
Lee’s is an accomplished artist having held numerous sell-out shows over twenty years. He has been represented in Galleries in Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Demand for the artist’s work is now driven by overseas and local collectors. Lees’s work is currently represented in numerous significant private and corporate collections in Australia, Asia, U.S.A, Europe and the U.K.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023 “Headspace”, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2022 “Fragments”, Libby Edwards Galleries, Melbourne
2022 “Habitat” Harvey Galleries Sydney
2021 “Cloud trip” Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2021 “Rock Candy” Harvey Galleries Sydney
2020 “Ancient Summer” Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2019 “Un-discovery” Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2019 “Transfigure”, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2018 “Group Show” Margaret River Gallery WA
2017 “Group Show” Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2017 Trevor Victor Hervey gallery, Seaford Sydney
2016 “Recent Work” Harvey Galleries Sydney
2015 “Vision of Solus”, Redsea Gallery Brisbane
2014 “Recent Paintings” Libby Edwards Galleries
2014 “Exhibition WA”, Gadfly Gallery Perth 2013
2012 Recent Paintings, Libby Edwards Galleries, Melbourne
2011 Libby Edwards Galleries Sydney pop-up show, 21 October – 5 November
2011 “New Surrealist paintings” Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2010 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2009 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2008 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2008 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Brisbane
2007 “Coldsnap”, Libby Edwards Galleries Sydney
2007 Libby Edwards Galleries in Hong Kong
2006 Libby Edwards Galleries Sydney
2005 “Australian Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2004 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Sydney
2002 Libby Edwards Galleries, Sydney
2001 Libby Edwards Galleries, Sydney
2001 Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra
2000 Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra
2000 Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra
1999 Libby Edwards Galleries, Portsea
1998 Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra
