Nikki S. Lee

Nikki S. Lee is a photographer and filmmaker who creates durational bodies of work. Stretching the parameters of performance and identity politics, Lee’s best known series is Projects (1997-2001) which Lee began while studying at NYU. Selecting various sub-cultural identities such as skateboarders, exotic dancers, swingers, yuppies or senior citizens, Lee would spend three or four months with each community, learning their social intricacies, expressions, behaviours, ways of dressing etc. After this research period, Lee would present herself as a member of this group, and spend a further few weeks being pictured as part of this new entourage, aiming to blend into the fabric of the clique. Merging elements of documentary, research and performance, the representation of these multiple personas links Lee’s practice to the work of Cindy Sherman, Eleanor Antin and Adrian Piper. However, Lee’s oeuvre has come under scrutiny in recent years with accusations of cultural appropriation, (Lee darkened her skin to assimilate with the Hip-Hop crowd and drastically altered her makeup as part of the Hispanic series). Critics continue to question whether Lee mobilizes appropriation to highlight and challenge racial, gender or sexuality biases, or whether her methodologies further cement social divisions. ...

Various Small Fires (Los Angeles /Dallas /Seoul) began as a series of conversations with artists and curators in Esther Kim Varet’s Venice Beach kitchen while working on her doctoral dissertation. VSF debuted in Hollywood as an official gallery in 2015 with a roster of artists and its current Johnston MarkLee Architects-designed building. The Hollywood gallery contains three exhibition spaces, a unique sound corridor, and an outdoor gallery. VSF’s exhibition program explores several curatorial lines: climate, equality, and an international conversation. The gallery is known for offering artists debut shows, creating intergenerational conversations among the artists on its roster, and solidifying artists’ legacies within art history. In 2019, VSF opened a second location in the Hannam neighbourhood of Seoul, South Korea, followed recently this Spring by VSFs third outpost in Dallas, Texas. While Varet has very personal connections to both locations, they are also superlative art communities. These expansions emphasise the gallery’s commitment to innovation and global dialogue in the twenty-first century. In 2021, VSF became a member of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA). ...