You feel total appreciation and a deep visual thrill when looking at Bovey Lee’s paper artworks. Lee is a genuine master of her medium, which is intricate paper cutting art. Her rice paper works are a manifestation of a brilliantly fine cutting technique whose aesthetic is delicate and refined. Though a complete master of the medium, Bovey Lee’s works also carry a message; her paper cutting art explores the tension between man and the environment in the context of power, sacrifice and survival.

This Hong Kong born, Pittsburg-Pennsylvania based artist, who in 2005 created her first paper cutting art work, has ever since worked on some impressive projects. Among them are commissioned works for the Art@Government Buildings, New York Time magazine, Hugo Boss, Annabelle, and various group exhibitions around the world. Earlier this year her first solo exhibition “Water has a Memory” was shown at Florida’s Gavlak Gallery. The exhibition celebrated Lee’s affinity for nature, in particular water, as demonstrated in her paper cutting works.

Bovey Lee admires anonymous Chinese paper cutting artists – generations of woman, grandmothers, mothers, daughters and granddaughters. Women who made paper cuttings neither for fame nor fortune but for self expression and familial bonding. Their beautiful spirit and thousands of years of work inspire her daily.

One of the things I most like about Lee’s works is the more you look and look again, the more your engagement with her work increases, until you discover a truly intrinsic appreciation for the extreme preciseness (believe me, there is absolutely no room for a mistake) and the value of endless hours of craftsmanship. By using the medium of paper in a beautiful and fascinating way, Lee has definitely paved her way into my heart. She is absolutely magnificent!

Bovey Lee’s works are presented by Rena Bransten Gallery and Gavlak Gallery. A wide range of her works can be found on her website. Image courtesy of Bovey Lee