contact
we are family
white flight
frankenlovely
group therapy
unhidden
two months’ salary
the thought that counts
sleepy women
folded
i heart New Jersey
Her work has been exhibited nationally including solo exhibits at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (MOCA), GRACE in Reston, Virginia, and Hillyer Art Space in Washington, D.C. Lee's work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The American Prospect, The Atlantic, Fresh Paint, and YVI Magazine.
Her works are part of the collections of the Washington D.C. Art Bank, Hickok Cole Architects, The Graduate Hotel in Richmond, Virginia, the Rosslyn Renaissance Business Improvement District, and The Newark Public Library, Special Collections Division.
Online, her work has been presented at DailyServing, Humble Arts Foundation, Murmur DC, The Truth of Beauty, Today and Tomorrow, i like this art, Beautiful Decay, DesignBoom, and many others. She is a semi‐finalist for the 2014 and 2013 Bethesda Painting Awards, a 2012 Trawick Prize semi‐finalist, and a recipient of a Creative Communities Fund Grant for her work with the 2011 Source Festival.
CV
Lives and works in Orlando, FL
Education
Bachelors of Fine Art (Communication Arts/Photography), Honors, VCUarts, Richmond, VA
Solo Exhibitions
2014
Photo Album, Hillyer Art Space, Washington D.C.
2012
The Pursuit of Happiness, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA
2008
The Thought that Counts, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2017
Temporal Gestalt, curator: Mary Cooke, Lee Gallery, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
2016
Art Night, curator: Lauren Hilyard, Washington, D.C.
2015
Art Night, curator: Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams, Hickok Cole, Washington, D.C.
Select 2015, curator: Ryan Holladay, Artisphere, Rosslyn, VA
On the Mind, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2014
LineWorks: Drawing Redefined, curator: Erica Harrison, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA
High Contrast, curator: Jordan Shelton, CCBC Catonsville Center for the Arts, Baltimore, MD
Reunion: 40 Years in the Making, curator: Ned Riley, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA
(inter)Related, curator: Allison Nance, District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington, D.C. (catalog)
Americana*, curator: Neal Flynn, 39th Street Gallery, Brentwood, MD
A Window in the Mind's Eye, curator: Brooke Seidelmann, Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, Washington D.C.
Here and Now, curator: Karyn Miller, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA
2013
External Memory, curator: Chandi Kelley, District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington D.C.
501-‐9, curators: Jonathan Beer and Lily Koto Olive, Clemente Soto Vélez Center, New York, NY
Social Construction, curator: Blair Murphy, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA
2012
SLPS Atlanta, curator: David Bram, Ambient Plus Studio, Atlanta, GA
Signals: Art from a New Washington School, curator: J.W. Mahoney, District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington D.C.
(e)merge Art Fair, Washington Project for the Arts, Capital Skyline Hotel, Washington, D.C.
SLPS Philadelphia II, curator: Sam Gulino, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Art Decathlon, District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington, D.C.
2011
Proximity to Practice, curators: Stefanie Fedor and Rachel Schmidt, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA
Group Show No. 39.2, juror: Amani Olu, Humble Arts Foundation, New York, NY
BITE: Identity and Humor, juror: Jefferson Pinder, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA
Adjusting the Volume, Source Festival, Washington, D.C.
Signs on the Road, curators: Gogue Projects and Cathouse FUNeral, Curatorial Research Lab at Winkleman Gallery, New York, NY
New Blood, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA (catalog)
2010
SLPS Washington D.C. V, Fotoweek, Washington, D.C.
SLPS Chicago IV, Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Summer Open House, Red Cake Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Accommodation, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA
2009
Group Show No. 31, juror: Amani Olu, Humble Arts Foundation, New York, NY
Autumn Open House, Red Cake Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008
Civilians, Civilian Art Projects, Washington, D.C.
Is it possible to make a photograph of New Jersey regardless of where you are in the world?, curator: Laurel Ptak,
Pierro Gallery, South Orange, NJ (catalog)
Group Show No. 22, juror: Amani Olu, Humble Arts Foundation, New York, NY
Awards, Grants, and Residencies
Hickok Cole Art Night Purchase Award Winner, 2015
Semi-‐finalist, Bethesda Painting Awards, 2013, 2014
Semi-‐finalist, The Trawick Prize, 2012
Creative Communities Fund Grant, 2011
Studio Residency, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Feb. 2010 ‐ March 2015
ASDF Makes Grant, 2009
Selected Bibliography
Stephen Babcock, "This is your brain on art", Technical.ly, Jan. 28, 2015
Mark Jenkins, "In the Galleries: At Greater Reston Arts Center, no straight lines", The Washington Post, Dec. 26, 2014
Mark Jenkins, "In the Galleries: Herrity and Gainer", The Washington Post, Oct. 17, 2014
Ekaterina Popova, "Studio Visit: Lee Gainer", Fresh Paint, Oct. 17, 2014
Mark Jenkins, “In the Galleries: Music and Art collide with a Pop”, The Washington Post, July 5, 2014
Mark Jenkins, “In the Galleries: A Window into the Mind’s Eye”, The Washington Post, Feb. 28, 2014
Cara Ober, “In the Studio with Lee Gainer, an Interview with Cara Ober”, Bmore Art, Sept. 25, 2013
Casey Kelbaugh, “Belonging to Photography”, Transmission, Volume 1, No. 2, Winter 2013
Mark Jenkins, “Signals shows there’s plenty going on in Washington’s art scene“, The Washington Post, Nov. 8, 2012
Cara Ober, "Karma and the Power of Ice Cream"", Urbanite, July 17, 2012
Stephanie Merry, “Art Decathlon: stretching their artistic talents”, The Washington Post, Jan. 13, 2012
Andy Johnson, “Studio Visit: Lee Gainer”, Sick of the Radio, May 18, 2011
Delia Sava, “Getting Serious about Art”, Arlington Connection, Feb. 25, 2011
Diana Adams, “Frankenlovely: Our Obsession with Image & Youth Illustrated”, Bit Rebels, Nov. 20, 2010
Scott Ahn, "Lee Gainer -‐ Exploring Open Spaces", MurmurDC, Oct. 27, 2009
Catherine Rampell, "Rocks for Refs"", Economix, The New York Times, April 8, 2009
Dana Goldstein, "Two Month's Salary?”, Tapped, The American Prospect, April 7, 2009
Hannah Brehm, "Lee Gainer Questions the Price of Love Myth with Two Months’ Salary", Digital City, April 7, 2009
Andrew Sullivan, "Two Months’ Salary", The Atlantic, April 5, 2009
Nate Archer, "Two Months’ Salary", Designboom, April 4, 2009
Jennifer Mawby, "Artists Review Artists: Lee Gainer", Thinking About Art, Sept. 26, 2008
Publications
Ekaterina Popova, Fresh Paint, Issue No. 5, Oct. 2014
Jessica Pavone, inter(Related) (catalog), June 2014
Welmer Keesmaat, Yvi Magazine: Portraits, Issue No. 6, Nov. 2011
Marco Nicotra, Bolo Magazine: Stars are Indispensable, Issue No. 1, July 2011
Bridget Sue Lambert, New Blood (catalog), Jan. 2011
Two Months’ Salary, Oct. 2009
Ben Alper, The Exposure Project Book, Issue No. 4, July 2009
Marlaina Read, Invisible City, Issue No. 3, May 2009
Noel Rodo‐Vankeulen, "Domesticity Redux", Wassanaar Magazine, Issue No. 1, August 2008
Laurel Ptak, Is it possible to make a photograph of New Jersey regardless of where you are in the world? (catalog), April 2008
Lectures, Talks and Panels
Artist Panel, LineWorks: Drawing Redefined, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA, Nov. 2014
Artist Talk, (inter)Related, District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington, D.C., July 2014
Artist Talk, A Window in the Mind's Eye, Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, Washington D.C., Feb. 2014
Artist Panel, External Memory, District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington D.C., July 2013
Artist Talk, The Pursuit of Happiness, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA, Sept. 2012
Artist Panel, One on One: Artists in Conversation, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Arlington, VA, Nov. 2011
Artist Panel, BITE: Identity and Humor, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA, July 2011
Artist Panels, Adjusting the Volume, DC Source Festival, Washington D.C., June ‐ July 2011
Guest Speaker, IB Visual Arts Classes, South Lakes High School, Reston, VA, March 2009
Artist Talk, The Thought that Counts, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA, Nov. 2008
Collections
Graduate Hotel, Richmond, VA
Hickok Cole Architects, Washington, D.C.
Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank, Washington D.C.
Rosslyn Renaissance/Rosslyn Business Improvement District, Rosslyn, VA
Indie Photobook Library, Washington D.C.
Museu Brasileiro da Escultura, São Paulo, Brazil
The Newark Public Library, Special Collections Division, Newark, NJ
Public Installations
Open Sky Project, Rosslyn, VA, May ‐ Aug. 2011
The Thought that Counts, Two Liberty Center, Ballston, VA, 2010
Related Experience
Juror, Congressional Art Competition, Alexandria, VA, 2013, 2014
Member, Sparkplug Artist Collective, Sept. 2012 ‐ Sept. 2014
Co‐chair, Resident Artist Committee, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Nov. 2012 ‐ June 2013
Member, Special Events Committee, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Nov. 2012 ‐ June 2013
Resident Artist Representative to the Board of Directors, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, July 2011 ‐ June 2013
Juror, Regional Scholastic Art Competition, Fairfax, VA, 2009
Curator, Peek, Feb. 2008 ‐ March 2015
Studio Manager, Benjamin Edwards Studio, Dec. 2005 ‐ March 2007