Education
Selected Exhibitions
2008 - 2012
Bachelor of Design - Illustration, Ontario College of Art and Design University , Toronto, ON
2021
AGYU x TBLGAY: Pride 2021, Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, ON
Elusive Desires (with Florence Yee), Varley Art Gallery, Markham, ON
How To Read A Vessel, Co-Curator (with Tara Bursey, Suzanne Carte, Su-Ying Lee, and Christine Saly-Chapman), Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON
ArtworxTO x Driftscape: Artist Curated Walking Tour, Toronto, ON
Pride 2021, Pride Toronto, Underscore Projects, Toronto, ON
2020
Regarding the Enclosures (with Clare Samuel), Aspace Gallery, Toronto, ON
We Have Together, Interactive installation, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
Becoming Together, Keeping Ourselves, Openspace, Victoria, BC
2019
Artist in Residence, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
Folding In, Solo Show, Patel Gallery, Toronto, ON
Potluck, Group Show, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
THIS IS SERIOUS: Canadian Indie Comics, Group Show, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, ON
Moleskine project VIII, Mana Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
SMASH, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON
Pangeaseed Seawalls, Mural Festival, Cozumel, Mexico
Let’s Talk About Sex, BB, Group Show, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, ON
Funhouse, Monda Forma x Universal Pictures, Toronto, ON
St+Art India Mural Festival, Hyderbaad, India
New Ho Queen: Undivided, Co-Curator (with The New Ho Queen Collective), Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON
Group Show: Patel Preview, Patel Gallery Toronto, ON
FEMME, Spoke Art x Juxtapoz Projects with Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ
2018
Inaugural Group exhibition, Patel Gallery, Toronto, ON
Home away Home, Group Exhibition, Keep 6 TO, Toronto, ON
All You Can, Solo Show, The Letter Bet, Montreal, ON
Psycho Salon, Group Show, Superchief Gallery, New York, NY
Summer Group Show, Patel Gallery, Toronto, ON
Mind Blend, Group Show, Blank Canvas Gallery, Toronto, ON
Spring Group Show, Patel Gallery, Toronto, ON
OFFSITE, Group Show, Concept Space, Toronto, ON
How to Hold Yourself, Solo Show, Patel Gallery, Toronto, ON
2017
Can’t Touch This, Group Show, Mulherin New York, New York, NY
Spring/Break Art Show 2017: American/Women, Group Show, Mulherin New York, New York, NY
A Few Things, Solo Show, Grumpy Bert, Brooklyn, NY
Judy Chicago Dinner Party Tribute, Group Show, The Drake Commissary, Toronto, ON
Sinking Ships, Solo Show, Drake Art, Art Toronto, Toronto, ON
In House, Group Show, Paperhouse Studio, Toronto, ON
Vessels, Group Show, Munky King Gallery, Los Angeles,CA
Bear the Wait, Installation, Xpace Gallery, Toronto, ON
Shape, Group Show, Dais Gallery, Toronto, ON
The Library Gallery, Solo Show, The Theatre Center, Toronto, ON
Preview Show 2017, Project Gallery, Toronto, ON
No More Bath Bombs, Unlovable Gallery, Toronto, ON
One Year Anniversary, Northern Contemporary, Toronto, ON
Honest Ed's Farewell Exhibition- Timeraiser 150, Installation (with Tessar Lo), Toronto, ON
Red Pocket Annual Show, Grumpy Bert, Brooklyn, NY
Graphic, Group Show, Offsite Concept Space, Toronto, ON
2016
Salon Show, Project Gallery, Toronto, ON
Go to The Light, 301 Gallery, Boston, MA
Works on Paper, Group Show, Project Gallery, Toronto, ON
Hyakki Yagyo: Night Parade of 100 Demons, Northern Contemporary, Toronto, ON
Feel A Part, NO FOUNDATION, Toronto, ON
Growing to Love, Huntclub Gallery, Toronto, ON
Two's Company, Duo show with Chris O'Niel, Boston, MA
Nowhere Now Tour, Alt Space Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
Selected Publications
2021
Elusive Desires, Goose Lane Editions, Fredericton, NB
NSFW, Paragon Books, San Francisco, CA
2020
How Polyamory Helped Me Survive Widowhood, Chatelaine Magazine, Toronto, ON
The Fertility Outcome No One Talks about, Chatelaine Magazine, Toronto, ON
2019
Lets Talk about Sex, bb, Agnes Etherington, Kingston, ON
Death Threat with Vivek Shraya, Arsenal Press, Vancouver, BC
2018
Write Magazine, Toronto, ON
Room Magazine, Toronto, ON
2017
Happy If you Know it - Without Pretend, Toronto, ON
2016
Got a Girl Crush Magazine, New York, NY
2015
Bust Magazine, New York, NY
Maisonneuve Magazine, Montreal, QC
2014
Bust Magazine, New York, NY
Lucky Peach Magazine, New York, NY
Maisonneuve Magazine, Montreal, QC
Bitch Magazine , Portland, OR
Quill & Quire Magazine, Toronto, ON, May
2013
Dandyhorse Magazine, Toronto, ON, Oct
Blueprint Magazine, Waterloo, ON, Oct
ILLO13, The 3x3 International Illustration Directory, New York, NY, Jan
2012
7 Second Beer Challenge, Las Vegas Weekly, Las Vegas, Oct
Chew your food, Broken Pencil, Toronto, Oct
OCADU Annual Report, OCAD University, Toronto,
Applied Arts Student Awards, Montreal, 2012
Illustration feature in CQ28, Creative Quarterly, New York,
Student Merit -3x3 Illustration Annual,3x3 Magazine, New York
CMYK 53 Top 100 Creatives, CMYK
OCADU Illustration Catalog, Toronto
Society of Illustration Student Scholarship Annual, New York
Rivet 2012, Volume 1, OCAD Student Press, Toronto
Selected Press
Selected Video
Newest Magazine “Swellings in the Tide”
Conversationx “An Interview with Illustrator Ness Lee”
Frank and Oak “Ness Lee unfolds”
Fashion Magazine “ A Conversation with Ness Lee, Toronto’s unofficial Artist-in- Residence”
Art Gallery of York University - “Ness Lee Multiple: Connected, Here Together”
Art Gallery of York University - “AGYU commissions a new work by Ness Lee for Pride 2020”
Elephant Magazine “Ness Lee’s Tactile Illustrations Find Strength in Sadness and Vulnerability”
Art Gallery of Ontario: AGO Insider, “Public Intimacy”
Design Lines “How Ness Lee became Toronto’s Go-To Diarist”
CBC Arts “March is coming in like a… Tiger? Ness Lee on this month’s fierce new logo design”
This Magazine “For Asian Artists Social Media Has Changed Everything”
Art Gallery of Ontario: AGO Insider, “Get Creative with Ness Lee”
CBC Arts “This artist is exploring sexuality ad playfulness through ceramics”
Torontoist “This Installation Evokes togetherness for Worlds AIDS Day”
Art Gallery of Ontario: AGO Insider, “Molding Clay (And Young Minds)”
The Huffington Post “How Hakka- Chinese Canadian Artist Ness Lee Crafted Her Own Asian Identity”
Nikkei Voice “Folk Art and Feelings”
Vice “Ness Lee Isn’t Naked In Her Drawings”
Juxtapoz "Keep Lovin' Fun: The Work of N
Lexiquette "Ness Lee's Sticky Sweet Illustrations"
Canadian Art "Critical Craft at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition"
Spins and Needles "Artist Profile: Ness Lee"
Art Gallery of Ontario “Ness Lee: We Have Together”
Unframed TV “Ness Lee: Art rooted in healing, exploration and the human form”
CBC Video “Enter the minimalist world of artist Ness Lee”
Vice Video “Turning Death Threats into a Comic Book”
The Huffington Post “How Hakka- Chinese Canadian Artist Ness Lee Crafted Her Own Asian Identity”
Vice “Ness Lee Isn’t Naked In Her Drawings”