Biography

Biography

Céli Lee is a Chinese born British artist working across fields of drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography and music. Céli started to draw at the age of five, gradually she picked up traditional Chinese ink painting, winning multiple children’s painting awards national wide. She pursues it ever since.

Between 2013 and 2015, Céli began to develop a series of drawings from which two books have been published: “At the Mountains of Madness” in 2016 and “A Journal of Transform” in 2018. And in 2023, Céli’s latest drawing series were published in the book ‘Chosen Lords’.

Apart from drawing and painting, Céli’s artistic endeavours also include film, sculpture, photography and music. In 2013, Céli's short film "Epoch 4" premiered at London Fashion Week. Between 2014 and 2018, Céli created The Not so Still Moment, a series of earthen/stoneware clay sculptures. From her photography work, the photobook “Sakura” has been published in 2017.

In 2015, Céli formed the band MU with Sergio Calderón. Over the following three years, they explored different genres and recording techniques and released four instrumental albums. They did two tours in Japan and shows in Europe, London, and China in 2016 and 2017. They also made the soundtracks for some of their films and installations, of which were performed as live shows. MU hasn't been active since 2018 but the duo continued to record together as Sergio Calderón & Céli Lee and released their first album “The Eternal Dice” in June 2020, followed by EP “Iron String” in April 2021, and their latest EP “The Beginnings (Part 1.)” was released in December 2022.

Céli Lee is also the co-founder of ENTERTAINING VIOLENCE along with Sergio Calderón where the duo release their work and music.

Céli's book publications have been sold in stores worldwide and her work has been featured in press and magazines internationally such as: IdN Magazine, It’s Nice That, Juxtapoz, Tiny Pencil, Hey!, The Creators Project, VICE Magazine, African Paper, A Closer Listen, The Attic, Aural Aggravation, Dublab, The Beijinger and Tokyo Gig Guide.