Tiffany Heng Hui Lee
Tiffany Heng Hui Lee is a visual artist specializing in abstract, mixed media collages and paintings. At the impressionable age of eighteen, she immigrated to the United States from Taipei, Taiwan. As a student at the University of Houston, she was mentored by painting professor Richard Stout, who pushed her to accept nothing less than excellence in her work. As a graduate student, she was a teaching assistant, which allowed her to inspire and encourage others to incorporate her requirement for intimate detail into their work.
Tiffany’s art expresses movement and energy, reflecting the changing, unstable characteristics of nature, as well as the fragmentation and uncertainty of life. Her abstract creations allow the viewer to interpret each work based on their personal experiences and preferences. Layers mimic the order found in nature that must be present for balance and harmony to exist. Layering materials provides depth to each object. Tiffany’s architectural background allows her to use repetitive lines to create abstract compositions. The use of intimate detail enhances the work by luring the viewer ever closer to discover elements not visible from afar.
Tiffany’s paper collages have been selected for numerous juried exhibitions. Most recently, her work was selected by Alison de Lima Greene, the Isabel Brown Curator of Modern Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, for the VAA Exhibition “Other Stories About Who We Are.” She has exhibited at the Art Museum TX, the Beeville Art Museum, Beeville, TX, the K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi, TX, the Jung Center, Houston, TX, Lee College in Baytown, TX, Women Made Gallery in Chicago, IL, curated by Kathryn Markel, and Galerie Biesenback in Cologne, Germany. She currently has a solo exhibition at the Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, TX, with future solo exhibitions planned at Heidi Vaughan Fine Art, Houston, TX, in 2023, and the Beeville Art Museum, Beeville, TX, in 2024.
Instagram: @tiffanylee944
What initially sparked your interest in art?
I have always been interested in art. As a young girl raised by my grandmother in Taiwan, we lived near rice fields, and I was constantly exposed to the beauty of nature surrounding me. My father made beautiful garments in a textile factory, which gave me the opportunity to learn about fabrics, colors, and design at an early age. As a young Asian woman attending college in the USA, my interests naturally drifted towards art and architecture. My parents encouraged me to study engineering or computer science, but it was too late—my heart and soul were already focused on design and making the world beautiful through my art.
What connects your work together, and what keeps you creating?
My work is based on the five elements, similar to the beauty found in nature. For beauty to exist, the five elements (fire, earth, metal, water, and wood) must be in a specific sequence, in just the right quantity. This order is found in natural landscapes and other scenic wonders in our environment. My work strives to capture the beauty found in nature by using the five elements to generate abstract mixed media collages that capture segments of the natural landscape. They express movement and energy, reflecting the changing, unstable characteristics of nature, as well as the fragmentation and uncertainty of life.
Describe your work using three words.
Lines, shapes, and color.
What are you most proud of as an artist, whether it's a specific moment or who you are as an artist?
My architectural background allows me to use repetitive lines to create abstract compositions. The use of intimate detail enhances my work by luring the viewer ever closer to discover things not visible from afar. When I see viewers approach my artwork for a closer look, it brings happiness to my heart, knowing they will discover the intimate lines in the collage and appreciate the detail in the work, as well as the architectural elements.
If you could be in a two-person exhibition with any artist from history, who would it be and why?
Agnes Martin’s work has always inspired me to use repetition in my work. The simplistic beauty of the lines and shapes she uses captures my heart and encourages me to focus on intimate details in my own work. Using lines, shapes, and colors to generate abstract landscapes is my way of encouraging viewers to become more aware of nature and strive to protect our precious environment, much like Agnes Martin’s work inspires me to treasure nature as well.
