LEE JAMES SHOTT
(b. 1989 Cardiff, Wales)
Lee James Shott subjectively captures the contemporary culture of communities throughout South Wales through oil paintings. Lee explores the human condition and status quo through through diverse sources whether personally, vicariously, or via the media, commenting on contemporary culture and the impact it’s had both the individual and society. Inspired by images from the personal phone, newspaper articles, or the web, the paintings undergo various levels of distortion, simplification, or abstraction.
Lee also Investigates the fragility of the human psyche and mental health in modern times, the paintings depict evocative portraits in a distant gaze or lost in their own thoughts within a void, captured using a limited and heightened pallet in order to convey direct emotion.
The paintings have elements of ambiguity from the obliteration of facial features and seemingly unfinished sections, dealing with themes such as identity whilst delving into the complexity of human development and behaviour. The paintings have bold and visceral brush work to capture the source material, becoming subjective in the process which generates melancholic imagery with pathos; reacting quickly, often completing a painting in one sitting.
Abandoned car (2015)
Storm (2020)
Untitled portrait (2015)