Artist Bio
Stephen Lee is a Korean-American sculptor based in Dallas, Texas. Born in South Korea and immigrating to the United States as a teenager, Lee draws from a dual set of cultural influences that inform his work both consciously and subconsciously.
He studied sculpture at Occidental College in Los Angeles and industrial design at California State University, Long Beach, leading to a 20+ year career designing consumer products and retail merchandising for companies such as KitchenAid, JCPenney, and Samsung.
In 2021, Lee returned to sculpture, bringing with him a deep skill set in design design and development, which he now applies to his creative practice. His small-scale works have been exhibited at prominent art fairs across the country, and he has been awarded public art commissions in Texas and Oklahoma.
Artist Statement
Visual language is no different from that of spoken or culinary. When arranged with sensitivity and intent, it creates visceral meaning that resonates with viewers. I am highly attuned to this part of the craft.
I build as though I’m drawing in space. In forged steel, each hammer strike becomes a mark, not unlike pointillism in painting. Layering and carving mortar becomes its own form of impasto. Steel and mortar are my primary materials because they let me build intuitively, edit freely, and avoid rigidity. This process honors the time and decisions the work lives through, resulting in handmade textures that aim to embody authenticity and vulnerability.
Within this framework, I explore what I call the “elegance of complexity”. My sculptures mirror how I see the world: layers of interwoven tensions that make coexistence fragile yet just compatible enough to adapt and keep moving. I often hold multiple perspectives at once and feel the nuanced pull between instinct and analysis, and that internal landscape shapes my work. I call it elegant because that complex web of tensions is the single life-force of our system.
Exhibitions & Shows
2026 Solo exhibition “Elegance of Complexity” in progress at Plaza of the Americas in Dallas, TX
2026 Exhibited at The Palm Beach Show, Palm Beach, FL, represented by Galerie STP, Germany
2025 Exhibited at Aqua Art Miami during Art Miami as part of Mazlish Gallery
2025 Part of a three-person show, Moments of Perception, at Dallas College Richland
2025 Exhibited at Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week, Scottsdale, AZ, represented by Modrn Earth
2025 Exhibited at The Palm Beach Show, Palm Beach, FL, represented by Modrn Earth
2025 Selected for Texas Sculpts IV, a juried exhibition by the Art Centre of Plano, including a large-scale outdoor sculpture, TX
2024 Selected for Creme de la Creme, a juried exhibition by the Visual Arts Guild of Frisco, TX
2024 Exhibited at Hamptons Fine Art Fair, NY, represented by Siempre Avanti at Ar Wynwood, Miami, FL
2023 Selected for SOLID - Texas Sculpture Association's 40th anniversary juried show, TX
2022 Chosen for the Materials Hard & Soft International juried show by Greater Denton Arts Council in Denton, TX
Commissions
2025 Received private commission for a collector in Dallas, TX.
2024 Awarded Public Art Commission for “Flight of Dreams” at A.C. Caplinger Fields, Edmond, OK, Installation estimated in June 2026
2023 Awarded Public Art Commissions for “Multifaceted” at Westside Art Trails, Farmers Branch, TX