MICKEY LEE

Burdens of Trout

Artist Reception: October 13th, 6-8 PM

October 13th - November 9th, 2022

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As David Foster Wallace once wisely reminded us the water doesn’t need the fish. Much the same could be said for the fresh water fisherman who populate the rivers and streams of the American Northwest. A Steelhead Trout - sometimes fondly referred to a the fish of a thousand casts - does not need the angler and yet their bond runs deep. “Elusive and challenging, the best time to go fishing for a steelhead is in the winter,” explains Mickey Lee of the terrain she grew up surrounded by, “during the very first light of the morning. In Oregon the conditions are harsh and freezing. More often than not, you leave the river empty handed. “

And so we witness the trout in her paintings not only as a symbolic understudy of desire, but also a driving force behind the laborious and often unrequited longing a painter - like their angler counterpart - stares down in the studio. This body of work concerns itself with yearning, dedication and commitment to undertakings which suggest varying guarantees of return. We see the pregnant “Pink Woman” frozen in the obvious expectation of her immediate future. Or consider the case of the pastured cow. “The bunny in that painting is leading the cow to the fruit on the tree, but at the same time the woman is holding a different fruit behind her back as she’s caressing it,” explains Lee. “Since it’s a bunny, the animal is inherently good as opposed to, say, a hare. The woman in this painting signifies danger. She’s dissuading the cow from reaching the tree. I often go back and forth between the women in my paintings being icons of threat or safety. “

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New York, NY 10009

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