KYLE LEE // Mini Hangs

Nationale is pleased to announce Mini Hangs, a new exhibition of paintings by Portland artist Kyle Lee presented in the Project Room. In this series of small acrylic works on canvas, Lee distills the ephemeral qualities of daily life into a constellation of intimate tableaux set within a monolithic urban landscape. Blocky figures gaze out of windows into empty city streets, or onto blank canvases, searching for a subject. Glossy blue and violet hues mimic rain-slicked concrete surfaces at twilight, punctuated by the glow of electric lamps and streetlights. Lee describes the creation of this series as a process of “osmosis”—the absorption of one’s surroundings—in this case through retracing the textures and topographies of a place. It also offers a refreshingly candid record of the artistic process, of “the back and forth of being inspired, and then not.”

Set against this introverted mood, small scenes of interpersonal connection, which Lee calls “mini hangs,” sparkle: a quick hug across the center console of a friend’s car, a conversation shared sitting back-to-back on a couch held up by cinder blocks, a studio visit with a fellow artist. These quiet scenes amplify the profundity of a shared moment or a crossed path in the context of quotidian routines and settings—a chance to take in the presence of another, as if by osmosis.

Kyle Lee grew up near Tampa Bay, FL. After traveling throughout the United States in his early twenties, Lee moved to Portland, OR, to attend Portland State University, where he received his BFA in 2013 and his MFA in Contemporary Art Practice Studio in 2016. Lee has exhibited in galleries around Portland, including Nationale, Blackfish Gallery, Oregon Contemporary, and Erickson Gallery. He is a recipient of the 2016 Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize, and was the artist-in-residence at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop in 2019.

On view May 13–June 18, 2023
Opening reception Thursday, May 18 (5–7pm)

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