BIGG Artist: Helen Lee
Artist Statement
My work investigates language as a somatic experience. I draw from my trades as a glassblower and graphic designer to create works that examine the intersection of physical and linguistic experience.
Biography
I am an artist, designer, educator, and glassblower based in Oakland, California. I earned an MFA in Glass from RISD and a BSAD in Architecture from MIT. I recently taught in the Sculpture Department of California College of Art, and am currently the Glassblower-in-Residence at Palo Alto High School, and a freelance designer at Celery Design Collaborative in Berkeley, California.
Resume
Education
2006 Master of Fine Art in Glass, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2000 Bachelor of Science in Art and Design, Concentration in Architectural Design, Humanities Concentration in Writing; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Selected Experience
2008-09 Freelance Graphic Designer, Celery Design Collaborative, Berkeley, CA
2007-09 Glassblower-in-Residence Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, CA
2007-08 Lecturer, Department of Sculpture California College of Art, Oakland, CA
2000-09 Teaching assistant for various summer intensives taught by Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, and Pilchuck Glass School Peter Houk, Joe Cariati, and Chris Taylor
2006 The MIT Glass Lab, Cambridge, MA
2000-04 Technical Instructor
2000-02 Graphic Designer Weymouth Design, Boston, MA
Exhibitions
2009 Glass Guerillas, Corning, NY (upcoming)
Paper Work, The Hive Space Gallery, Oakland, CA
2008 RISD’s OneNightStand, Mina Dresden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Vitreous Typography, (SOLO EXHIBITION), Public Glass Gallery, San Francisco, CA
RISD Northern California Alumni Biennial, Oakland Art Gallery, Oakland, CA
Juried Annual 2008: Selections by Laura Hoptman, Senior Curator, New Museum, ProArts Gallery, Oakland, CA
2007 100 Years of Artists Teaching Artists, Tecoah Bruce Gallery, Oakland, CA
2006 Glass ’06, Wheeler Gallery, Providence, RI
RISD Glass Triennial, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
Plugged-In, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI
Disappearances, RISD Glass MFA Thesis Exhibition, The Peerless LOFTS Gallery, Providence, RI
Annual Graduate Student Exhibition, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Anechoic, (SOLO EXHIBITION), The Providence Art Club, Providence, RI
2005 RISD Glass, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Old American BroadloomGallery, Central Falls, RI
2004 RISD Graduate Glass Exhibition, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI
Lecturers
2009 Emerging Artist Lecture, Glass Art Society Conference, Corning, NY
2008 Visiting Artist Lecturer+Critic, Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
Visiting Artist Lecturer+Critic, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
2007 Visiting Artist Lecturer+Critic, California College of Art, Oakland, CA
2006 Visiting Artist Lecturer, Bristol Community College, Bristol, MA
Honors
2006 RISD Graduate Award of Excellence in Fine Arts, Providence, RI
E.P. Anderson Scholarship Award, Providence Art Club, Providence, RI
2004-06 RISD Graduate Student Fellowship, Providence, RI
2001 Pilchuck-MIT Partner Scholarship, Stanwood, WA and Cambridge, MA
2000 Peter J. Eloranta Fellow, MIT, Cambridge, MA
1998-00 MIT Arts Scholar, Cambridge, MA
1999 The List Foundation Fellowship for Students of Color, MIT, Cambridge, MA
1999 MIT Council for the Arts Grant Recipient, Cambridge, MA
