Tiffany Heng-Hui Lee
Stronger Together
September 7 – December 14, 2024
Tiffany Heng-Hui Lee’s mixed media paper collages and sculptures are inspired by the Chinese philosophy of the Five Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
Lee’s abstract work aims to raise environmental awareness by reflecting the interconnectedness of our ecosystem through the Five Elements. This philosophy highlights the need for balance, illustrating how disruptions can lead to environmental disharmony. “Each of the five elements must be present in just the right proportions and sequence,” Lee explained. “The fragile ecosystem of our planet is in a delicate state and our relationship with the elements is complex.”
Lee was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, before immigrating to the United States at the age of 18. She pursued her education at the University of Houston, earning both her BFA and MFA in Interior Design. It was during her academic journey that she first embraced the Five Elements as the cornerstone of her designs and artistic expressions.
“My goal is to transform these symbolic elements using shapes, colors, and textures, each layered and folded to create compositions that express intimate feelings about nature and life.”
Lee was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, before immigrating to the United States at the age of 18. She pursued her education at the University of Houston, earning both her BFA and MFA in Interior Design. It was during her academic journey that she first embraced the Five Elements as the cornerstone of her designs and artistic expressions.
Stronger Together builds previous exhibitions that have used nature and preservation as central themes including Orna Feinstein, Tom Beasley and Cissy Beasley. “Tiffany’s art brings yet another artistic expression and appreciation of nature,” said Executive Director Tracy Saucier. “I think visitors and students will be intrigued by the intricate detail of these pieces and how they allow viewers to become part of each piece rather than spectators.”
Tiffany Heng-Hui Lee is a Taiwanese-American visual artist specializing in abstract, mixed-media objects, paper-based collages, sculpture, jewelry, and paintings. She brings 30-plus years of experience as a corporate interior designer to her artistic practice. Lee’s paper collages have been selected for numerous juried exhibitions; most recently she received a 2024 Jones Artist Award from the Houston Endowment. She was selected by Alison de Lima Greene, the Isabel Brown Curator of Modern Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, for the Visual Arts Alliance Exhibition: Other Stories About Who We Are.
Lee’s works have been exhibited extensively in Texas, as well as nationally and internationally including Heidi Vaughan Fine Art, K Space Contemporary, Lawndale Art Center, Lone Star College, Art Museum TX, Dougherty Arts Center, Jung Center, Lee College, Women Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-do, Korea and Galerie Biesenback, Cologne, Germany. In addition to being an artist, Lee currently runs her design studio, HH Design Studio, in Sugar Land, Texas.
Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal #24
Cooper Objects
Return of Spring
Peace in the Strait
Topography of Salt Field
Topography of Salt Field in Hutt Lagoon II
Resilient
Topography of Salt Field in Hutt Lagoon II
Entrenched Meander- Horseshoe Bend II