The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation and Penn Live Arts at the Annenberg Center are pleased to present a comprehensive exhibition of the work of artist and educator Chen Lok Lee, on view in The Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center, September 15, 2022—May 2023.
A political refugee who swam to Hong Kong to escape Chinese political persecution, Chen Lok Lee’s story is one of survival and resilience. Lee overcame the struggles of immigration to succeed as a beloved and respected artist, educator and master printmaker in Philadelphia.
The 18 prints, watercolors, and lithographs in Excluded/Inclusion: The Work of Chen Lok Lee show the journey of his life and art on three continents, and demonstrate the broad range of his skillset and artistic style. It is a demonstration of work that shows the human spirit of determination, personal agency, and the power of choice to survive.
For more information please visit the exhibition website.
Download the exhibition poster in two languages. (PDF 1.2MB)
Opening Reception
Please join us for an opening reception on Thursday, September 15, from 5:00–6:30pm. Remarks at 5:30. Registration is encouraged but not required.
- Thursday, September 15, 5:00–6:30pm
- The Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center
3680 Walnut Street (enter from the South Plaza)
University of Pennsylvania
About the Artist
Chen Lok Lee (May 18, 1927–December 13, 2020) was a beloved educator and prominent printmaker and painter based in Philadelphia, PA. For over twenty years, he was a Professor of Printmaking, Silkscreen, and Lithography at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. Additionally, he taught Chinese calligraphy and painting through the Community College of Philadelphia and other community-based venues.
Lee fled China in 1950, swimming to Hong Kong, where he started to build a new life and career in the arts. He eventually made his way to New York City in 1959 where he studied under very prominent and contemporary artists at the Arts Students League including George Grosz, Stephen Greene, Robert Hale, and Hans Hoffman, which is where he developed a love for abstract expressionism.
By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Lee had developed technical mastery in printmaking and complex imagery with his watercolors and paintings. He studied at the Rome Academy in Italy and earned an MFA at the Tyler School of Fine Arts in printmaking under Romas Viesulas and Richard Callner. Lee’s work was featured throughout Europe at several group and one-man shows. Throughout Lee’s career in the 1980s and 1990s, he continued to be featured and show his work in one-man exhibits and group shows at galleries throughout the United States, including Gallery International in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia’s City Hall, Brandywine Workshop, and The Print Center, also in Philadelphia.
Acknowledgments
Excluded/Inclusion: The Work of Chen Lok Lee is presented by The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation and is the third exhibition to be featured in the Annenberg Center’s Arts Lounge, a new hub for the creative community at Penn and part of a $2M renovation of the Annenberg Center’s public spaces made possible by a generous gift from alumni Keith and Kathy Sachs.
Exhibition graphic design by Elaine Lopez.
