066 http://www.AmericanArtCollector.com
J
ivan Lee grew up in the rural New York commu-
nity of Woodstock, exploring the bucolic
landscape of the region. He later earned his
bachelor’s degree in biology and his master’s in envi-
ronmental policy from Bard College. At the same time,
he pursued his interest in art. He came to Northern
New Mexico to visit a friend, and shortly after his
arrival, he became incapacitated with Lyme disease.
During his recovery, he started doing environmental
consulting and working on sustainable communities.
He moved to Taos and taught at Taos Pueblo.
He became captivated by what is called “The Land
of Enchantment” and stayed on. “The environmental
stuff was part of why I went into painting,” he says.
“Something in the art process felt essential and powerful
in its potential to directly relate affectively about things
that I felt often remained isolated in the conceptual realm
in my previous career. I felt like I needed to find a moredirect, tactile, emotional dimension of my relationship
to landscape and place, and painting has been a most
welcome vessel for this.”
The landscape around Taos is one of highs and lows.
Nearby Wheeler Peak rises to over 13,000 feet above
sea level and the Rio Grande Gorge is 564 feet deep.
The combination is spectacular. There are a number
of paintings of the Gorge in his exhibition Jivan
Lee: Monument at William Havu Gallery in Denver,
November 15 through January 11, 2020.
He explains, “Amidst the changing land use priori-
ties nationally (such as delisting of national monu-
ments) and global debates regarding human habita-
tion and its implications for ecosystems worldwide,
Monument scales down to one locale—Taos, New
Mexico—with a rich tapestry of intersecting cultures,
land use designations and monumentally grand
vistas. Monument is an homage to the grand vista and1
The artist in his Taos,
New Mexico, studio with
works from Monument.
Photo by Ella Sophie,
http://www.ellasophie.com.
2
Monument #10 –
over/under, oil on
panel, 96 x 36"
3
The Gorge in Four,
oil on four panels,
80 x 60". Courtesy the
artist and LewAllen
Galleries, Santa Fe, NM.1