In 2023, Marissa Yung Lee was awarded a distinction by the prestigious Portrait Society of America for their annual International Portrait Competition. This year she was awarded a certificate of excellence from the society. On both occasions, it was for her paintings of Blue Devil kiddies.
Lee is the first Caribbean artist to have made it to the top 100, and she has been able to accomplish the feat twice so far.
Speaking to WE magazine from St Augustine, Lee said, “This competition is usually dominated by master artists from the US, UK, Europe, and Asia, so the likelihood of being recognised was very slim. This is why it meant a lot to me to have Trinidad and Tobago be among the awardees.”
Originally from south Trinidad, her mother is Trinidadian, and her father is South Korean. Lee also returned from a trip to London a few months ago. While in London, she had the opportunity to visit several art galleries, but she was actually there on a working holiday.
“I was invited by a wonderful family who live there; the wife is from Trinidad, she said.
“They had bought two of my paintings from past shows before deciding that they wanted to commission a large piece, so they invited me to their home for three weeks to work on it.
“They were really kind and treated me very well. During my breaks, we visited the Tate Britain and Modern, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Hampton Court Palace, and the Phillip Mould Gallery, where I saw King Charles’ official portrait.”
Lee said the family wanted a large painting that captured a piece of Trini culture. They indicated that something Carnival-related would be preferred. When she arrived there, she presented them with some options, and they decided on a Blue Devil, modelled by Steffano Orlando Marcano of the Next Level Devils.
It took Lee two weeks to complete the painting, and they were all very happy with how it turned out.
When asked what artworks or pieces she was impressed by in the various galleries, she replied the best show she saw was a John Singer Sargent exhibition called Sargent and Fashion at the Tate Britain. Lee explained they were able to display some of the original dresses and costumes alongside the paintings they were featured in. She said it had been an ardent wish of hers to see Carnation Lily, Lily Rose, and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw in person, and she was finally able to at this show. She expressed that there was really nothing like seeing these masterpieces with the naked eye as no photo could ever compare. “It was truly one of the happiest experiences of my life,” she said. “Sargent is my favourite artist.”
She also loved seeing two Pre-Raphaelite paintings by John William Waterhouse (The Lady of Shalott) and John Everett Millais (Ophelia).
Frederic Leighton’s work was astonishing to see as well.
Unfortunately, Lee did not meet up with any artists during her three-week stay in London; however, she did meet her two favourite British artists, Frances Bell and Ruth Fitton, at the Portrait Society of America’s International Conference just before her London trip. She has an aunt and uncle in Austria who are like parents to her and has been visiting them since she was ten years old and every two to three years since. Lee said through them she had been very fortunate to have seen a lot of Europe and to have visited precious museums like the Uffizi in Florence and the Belvedere in Vienna.
Being exposed to so much classical art and architecture undoubtedly influenced her life and art style. Lee spent three weeks with her aunt and uncle in Austria after leaving London. Her uncle and she drove to Switzerland to attend Art Basel. This was their third time attending Art Basel together and has become something of a tradition for them. Lee returned to Trinidad at the beginning of July.
She shared that she loves travelling, meeting people, and experiencing different cultures and cuisines. It opened her mind to how much more there was beyond the village, Rousillac, she grew up in, she said. She emphasised that, most importantly, the more she travelled, the more she appreciated home and our own culture, which is among the richest in the world.
Lee painted during the COVID-19 lockdown. Her first two showings, a four-person followed by a solo, took place during lockdown at Horizons Art Gallery. But due to restrictions, none of the artists were allowed to attend the launch for the four-person show, and it was streamed online instead. Lee was allowed to be there for the launch of her first solo exhibition, but no guests were. She did not have a real opening night with all the fanfare until her second solo show after lockdown had ended.
When asked if she had any causes she was passionate about, Lee said she loves animals. She wished more was done, not just to prevent their abuse but also to instill kindness toward them. Lee said she donates privately when she could to various animal rescue programmes, children’s homes, and individuals.
“I wouldn’t feel right about using charity to draw attention to or promote myself,” she said. Lee has two dogs and a cat. She said they love each other and they love her; they make her so happy. Lee said they have their own little personalities, which was a joy to witness. Among her hobbies, she loves martial arts; she is a student of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Trinidad and Tobago under Rondel Benjamin.
Lee had the honour of meeting American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian, Anthony Bourdain, when he visited Trinidad in 2017 for his show, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. She shared that Bourdain attended a private session with them, and she was able to roll (spar) with him. “He was very nice; I was sorry to hear of his passing,” Lee added.
She said she played mas before, but now she is fascinated with traditional mas. A lot of her work was centred around that, and if she plays mas again, it would be traditional. Lee paints Carnival, Blue Devil, Jab Jab, Moko Jumbies, and folklore characters and composes the structure of the painting, but the performers design their own looks and costumes. “It’s part of the reason I find them so inspiring,” she said.
Lee is mostly self-taught, but she has supplemented her learning with several international workshops. She did two workshops in the US with Susan Lyon and Scott Burdick and one in India with Pramod Kurlekar and Suchitra Bhosle. Lee has since taken online workshops with all of them and a few other artists she admires, like Zin Lim and Keita Morimoto.
She shared that she used to draw cartoons, then comics and manga, like most children. Lee said she knew that she liked it and was better at it than most of her classmates. She said, however, she never thought it was something that was important for her future. “I never knew that it would one day be my career,” Lee added.
Lee started out with watercolour, but now she works primarily in oil paint. Occasionally, Lee dabbles in charcoal, chalk pastel, and conte. She said portraits and figure painting are her absolute favourites. Lee describes her style as realism blended with impressionistic elements. She was always trying to capture the magical realism of Trinbagonian culture.
When asked what artists she admired or had been influenced by, Lee said Michelangelo was the first artist to leave an impression on her. She said his mastery of the human form painted and sculpted in dramatic and heavenly poses was something that she was sure led to her subject matter.
Lee said she loved the work of John Singer Sargent, as she mentioned before, as well as Bouguereau, Frederic Leighton, Cecelia Beaux, and Richard Schmid. In terms of living artists, she greatly admires Susan Lyon, Scott Burdick, Pramod Kurlekar, Suchitra Bhosle, Daniel Gerhartz, Daniel Keys, Adrienne Stein, Oliver Sin, David Mack, Kai Lun Qu, and many more.
Lee has exhibited her work at Horizons Art Gallery, Arnim’s Art Galleria, The Loftt, Studio Joli, the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Rotunda Gallery.
She also gives one-on-one sessions that follow a workshop format of four to five days.
