Billy Lee (NC), Large Brushed Steel Sculpture

late 20th century, brushed steel, geometric sentinel form over a wedge base, appears unsigned, presented on an ebonized wood plinth.
49 1/4 x 19 1/2 x 12 in. (sculpture); 31 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 16 1/2 in.
Billy Lee was born of Chinese and Dutch parentage in Uitenhage, South Africa. He is known for large abstract outdoor minimalist sculptures with anthropomorphic characteristics in stone, steel, and bronze. He received his BFA from Birmingham College of Art and Design, and his MFA at the Royal College of Art, London (RCA). He received the prestigious award of Kennedy Scholar, to attend the Centre for Advanced Visual Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was later named a Fellow. He remains the only artist ever to receive the award of Kennedy Scholar. He has been a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro since 1984.

In 1993 he received the Rodin Prize in the Fujisankei Biennale, Japan. In 1991, he received the Giacomo Manzu prize in the seventh Henry Moore International Exhibition. Lee was invited to participate in ‘Thinking Big: 21st Century British Sculpture’ at the Guggenheim in Venice, the Beijing Art Biennale and also Cairo Biennale.

Solo exhibitions of his work have been held in Osaka, Japan; the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem; the Meridian Museum in Mississippi; the Weatherspoon Art Gallery at UNCG; Harrods Gallery in England; among others.
From the Collection of Carol and Charles Carlson, Summerfield, North Carolina
Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.lelandlittle.com

Some scattered rusting; a few minor nicks to edges; wedge currently shimmed to prevent teeter; overall good estate condition.