LaKesha Y. Lee is an MFA student in Painting and Drawing at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is a multidisciplinary artist from Birmingham, Alabama. In 2019, she received her Bachelor of Fine Art from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Since then, she has been in many group exhibitions throughout the south.

LaKesha Y. Lee Lee uses her work to provide a positive outlook on black identity within the black community, the obstacles surrounding intergenerational traumas and racism. By creating a positive representation of an African American figure, she is creating a new narrative for the viewer. She hopes to help the view connect on a personal level with the figure.

Artist Statement

My work is surrounded by the identity of African American people and the importance of black representation. The value of self-worth and a positive presentation of the black figure.

I want my works to start and create a safe space for uncomfortable conversations. By dealing with loaded questions involving race, gender, identity, sex, and other social and political dilemmas, like my concerns with ecological extinction and the history of how people of color have been treated in my native state of Alabama. By constructing and deconstructing the figure, I am forming a new narrative for the audience. I want the viewer to connect with my work and see the figures as more than objects.