Rob Lee

After graduating with a degree in 3D Design, Model Making and Digital Art from Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology, I worked in the Irish film industry as a prop sculptor but could not make peace with the hazardous materials and excessive waste that I was confronted with. I left the film industry and spend some time traveling. During this time I learned how to work with wood.

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Working with a material that I am passionate about is essential. Most importantly wood is sustainable, but it also brings an element of life to a piece. The artist has to work with the personality of the once living material, it provides its own lines and contours, it splits and adds its own contrasts. Wood is unyielding and demands time and effort, something that is lost in our culture of instant gratification. 

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While I appreciate the value of abstract sculpture and how a three dimensional form can impact the mood in a room, I find a strong compulsion to center my work around a representational theme. What interests me most from my background in model making and prop sculpture is the form of the body; how the subtle complexities of skin layered over fat, over muscle, over bone can so accurately be depicted in one solid medium. Most of my work feature snap shots of expression or bodily interactions with the environment.