Dio Horia Gallery is pleased to present Rhys Lee’s ‘Sometimes I’m a Tree’, a solo exhibition featuring ten large-scale oil on canvas works and eight smaller-scale pastel studies for a singular bronze sculpture materialized by the Australian multi-disciplinary artist, on view at Dio Horia Acropolis, April 06 – May 06, 2023.

Rhys Lee’s unique, experimental and raw practice reveals a highly intuitive process. Shifting the boundaries between representation and abstraction, the artist puts on view an ethereal quality, crafting memories in a moment of cathartic release, expressed through a vibrant color palette, broad brushstrokes, sparse but pointed elements of detail, and textured visceral forms. The artistic process varies, as beginning with a handful of preliminary sketches, Lee’s initial intention oftentimes subsides, letting the artworks reveal themselves to the world.

Along these lines, the Sometimes I'm a tree series (Sometimes I'm a tree #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8) started as sketches for paintings and resulted in studies for the imposing bronze sculpture with this exact title, same as the current exhibit. While the pastel works were the first ones the artist realized in preparation for the show, these really never made it into actual paintings but eventually paved the way to their three-dimensional, sensational form by the end of the residency.

By the side, the Apple Escape series (Apple escape #1, #2, #3, #4) involves a lot more abstract compositions. The subject is reduced to pure color and form and a single apple may be the only visual element that remains intact and keeps the viewer connected to reality amidst colorful lines and geometrical shapes. The vision is blurred, with the mind fully pre-occupied, planning an escape that is yet to come to fruition.

Finally, in The Orchard sitter, Apple eyes, Reflection with a red apple, The Apple thief, Delights and Golden delicious works, it looks like a surreal, oh so familiar story being unfold, with a central figure leisurely passing time till tempted by an object of desire, then, unable to let go, focusing on the prize that keeps popping all around and finally succumbing to the primal, yet supposedly forbidden instincts.

In preparation of his visit to Dio Horia, the artist appears to be quite nostalgic. Leaving the Brisbane apple-picking season behind, Lee still uses the beloved non-fruit as a prop, visualizing a symbol that shares his homeland’s full taste, suggesting fun and comfort to most, devoid of any religious and ethical connotation. In essence, this may encapsulate the artist’s cosmic vision: one should better indulge in the joy of life and stop all fruitless quests, always searching for a deeper, complicated explanation, overthinking and analyzing each and every event, move, or impulsive decision made. Sometimes, we should try to escape the mundane. Sometimes, it’s better to just let ourselves be. Sometimes, I’m a tree