NEW YORK, NY.- Lombard Freid Gallery presenting Lee Kit’s second solo exhibition in New York. Following his highly acclaimed installation at the 55th Venice Biennale, Lee (b.1978, Hong Kong) further explores his obsession with the ordinary through series of staged domestic scenes and paintings. Lee’s practice proposes the poetics of the everyday; merging art with daily life, questioning the ways in which the viewer interacts with and perceives one’s surroundings. His work retains traces of past interventions and mediations, provoking both shared and individual memories. The everyday objects found in these installations offer a personal and social narrative that reaches beyond their singular potentials; here, they mingle with sound and film, creating an immersive and cinematic environment.

Lee’s latest work can be regarded as a continuation, he says, of the exhibition ‘You (you).’, which premiered at the 55th Venice Biennale and was reprised as ‘You.’, both curated by M+ and West Kowloon Cultural District. With ‘You.’, Lee’s elegant cardboard paintings and hand-painted cloths are joined by small, nearly overlooked sculptures: a stack of towels, painstakingly folded, resting in a corner; a single blue bucket; a table set for two, devoid of diners. For Lee, the spaces in between are as significant as these contemporary readymades, the emptiness just as poignant.

‘All these words are vague. For example, “The weather is nice. How are you?”’

‘”How are things on the West Coast?” It doesn’t matter whatever your answer is, after I asked you this question.’

Lee Kit (b. Hong Kong, 1978) studied painting at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His work premiered in New York at Lombard Freid Gallery with the solo exhibition '1, 2, 3, 4… (2011). Since then, he has become one of the most internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, exhibiting at such institutions as the New Museum, New York; Tate Modern, London; Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE; and Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 2013 he was selected to represent Hong Kong at the 55th Venice Biennale with his exhibition 'You (you.)', which he reprised in 2014 in an exhibition curated by M+ and West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong. Upcoming exhibitions include solo shows at S.M.A.K., Belgium and Mother’s Tankstation, Ireland, as well as a group exhibition at the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Germany and participation in the Asia Triennial, Manchester UK.



The title ‘How are things on the West Coast?’ is from the song The Heinrich Maneuver by the NY band Interpol.