The Work of Chen Lok Lee
EXCLUDED/INCLUSION
September 15, 2022 – May 2023
The Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
University of Pennsylvania
3680 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3680 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
︎︎︎ Chen Lok Lee: Teacher Mentor Friend by S. Joon Thomas

In March of 2021, I launched the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project, just three short months after my father, seminal Asian American and immigrant artist Chen Lok Lee passed away from COVID-19. Lee’s story is one of survival and the ways that he struggled to overcome exclusion as an artist, immigrant, and educator.

Untitled. 14 x 20". Watercolor. C1968.

Tao. 17 x 23". Color lithograph. C1988.
The 18 pieces included in Ex cluded/Inclusion: The Work of Chen Lok Lee show the journey of his life and art on three continents and demonstrate the broad range of his skillset and artistic style. Even when he was excluded from his homeland and forced to flee China and escape to Hong Kong, he used art to express himself through his paintings.

Untitled. 26 x 21". Chinese watercolor on rice paper. C1989.

Untitled. 16 x 18". Chinese watercolor on rice paper. C1985-1999
Being a political refugee required him to start his life from scratch, and when he finally came to the United States, he continued to make way for himself through his studies at the Art Students League in New York and the Tyler School of Art. At every juncture in his journey, he made the effort to create a place for himself, even though many barriers in his life as an immigrant kept him in the margins. He turned the exclusion that he faced into situations where he created acceptance and inclusion of himself and others.

Portrait II. 25 x 18". Color lithograph. C1985.
While deeply inspired by the abstract expressionist movement of the times, Lee’s art was not limited to one genre or style. He was highly skilled in many art forms, including painting, printmaking, sculpture, and ceramics.

Untitled. 12.5 x 17.75". Etching. C1972.

The Revolution is Over. 17 x 23”. Color lithograph. C1988
Excluded/Inclusion is a demonstration of work that shows the human spirit of determination, personal agency, and the power of choice to survive. Lee always strived to make others feel welcomed. He had a spirit of inclusion, likely because he understood deeply what it meant to be excluded. The pieces in this show exhibit his spirit of warmth, love, and welcome and show us that we each have the power to create places where we and others can survive and belong.

Untitled. 23 x 18". Color lithograph and aquatint. C1985.

Untitled. 17 x 13.5”. Chinese watercolor on rice paper. C1985-1999.

Dream Garden (blue edition). 19 x 25". Color lithograph. C1989.

Indian Summer. 16 x 25 ½". Black and white lithograph. 1973.

Untitled. 18 x 15". Black and white lithograph. 1987.

Untitled. 35 x 25". Color lithograph. C1974.

Untitled. 35 x 25". Color lithograph. C1974.

Untitled. 25 ¼ x 19 ½". Watercolor.

Untitled. 36 ¾ x 18 ¼". Chinese watercolor. C1995.
Excluded/Inclusion: The Work of Chen Lok Lee is presented by the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation and is the third exhibition to be featured in the Annenberg Center’s Arts Lounge, a new hub for the creative community at Penn and part of a $2M renovation of the Annenberg Center’s public spaces made possible by a generous gift from alumni Keith and Kathy Sachs.
