Stephen Eric Lee—known professionally as E.LEE—is a full‑time Chicago artist whose work probes the very foundations of how we experience art: its emotional pull, its power to confer status, and the curious ways we assign value. Through a signature trompe l’oeil technique, he breathes life into flat surfaces—inviting viewers into paradoxes of presence and absence, where the invisible becomes visible, and humor undercuts expectation.
A natural collaborator, E.LEE regularly teams with fellow artists, performers and designers to build immersive installations and public murals that spark conversation and delight. Simplification and the viewer’s point of view are his guiding principles: each piece is designed to subvert what we think we know, then gently reveal something unexpected.
E.LEE earned his BFA from Millikin University in 2002 and has exhibited in Chicago, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Paris and Brisbane. His murals adorn walls across the United States and around the world—from London, Bristol and Amsterdam to Barcelona, Nagoya and Osaka—each one a playful meditation on space, light and the stories just beneath the surface.
American, b. 1980
Education:
Millikin University Decatur IL, B.F.A Painting/Printmaking, 2002
Solo Exhibitions:
2024 - Krause Gallery - “Super” 2 person solo - NYC
2023 - All Star Press - “Breaking the Bank” - Chicago IL
2022 - LOOT Pop up - “In Cahoots” - Chicago IL
2022 - Krause Gallery - “A Familiar Feeling” 2 person solo - NYC
2021 - Spectrum Fair for Art Basel Miami - “E.LEE: A Luxury Brand” - Miami FL
2020 - University of Chicago’s Logan Center - “In the Red” - Hyde Park IL
2019 - Chicago Art Department “… and Smell the Roses” - Chicago IL
2018 - Chicago Art Department “Out of the Frame” - Chicago IL
2018 - ALLCAPSNOSPACES “All That Glitters” - Chicago IL
2016 - Good Details “From the Shadows” - Chicago IL
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2025 - All Star Press / Other Art Fair “Dead Presidents” - Chicago IL
2025 - Vertical Gallery “Alliance” - Chicago IL
2024 - Alma Gallery “Making Space” - Chicago IL
2024 - Krause Gallery “20 Year Anniversary Show” - NYC
2023 - Krause Gallery “Emerging to Established” - NYC
2023 - Artist Replete “Economical” - Chicago IL
2023 - ABV Gallery “Season Two” - Atlanta GA
2023 - Chicago Truborn “Nostalgia…ish” - Chicago IL
2022 - Stupid Krap / Sun City Gallery “Small” - Noosa AUS
2022 - Chicago Truborn “Islands & Bridges” - Chicago IL
2022 - All Star Press “Naturally Beautiful” - Chicago IL
2021 - Krause Gallery “Emerging to Established” - NYC
2020 - Stupid Krap “Batcave” - Brisbane AUS
2020 - Krause Gallery “Emerging to Established” - NYC
2019 - ALLCAPSNOSPACES “Stockpile” - Chicago IL
2019 - Hyde Park Arts Center “Not Just Another Pretty Face” - Hyde Park IL
2018 - CC’s Art Garage “Complex II” - Bridgeport IL
2017 - Linedot “Juried Holiday Show” - Chicago IL
2017 - Le Lavo matik “Paris Group Show” - Paris France
2016 - Good Details Gallery “Bad Reception” - Chicago IL
2016 - Le Lavo matik “Stencil Group Show” - Paris France
2016 - Vertical Gallery “Winter Group Show” - Chicago IL
2015 - Paper Crown Gallery “Cutout” - Arlington Heights IL
2015 - Vertical Gallery “Heroes & Villains” - Chicago IL
2014 - Vertical Gallery “Artmageddon” - Chicago IL
2013 - Vertical Gallery “Deck the Halls” - Chicago IL
Public Art Work:
2024 - “Level Up” - Highwood International Mural Festival / Highwood IL
2024 - “110” - Bank of America Building / Chicago IL
2023 - “Caution: Bridge Out” - Paramount Lodging Advisors / Chicago IL
2023 - “When it Rains it Pours” - Lake View Roscoe Village / Chicago IL
2023 - “The Medallion” - Lake View East / Chicago IL
2022 - “Rising” - Catherine Cook School / Chicago IL
2021 - “Hide & Seek” - (Lake View East) Chicago IL
2021 - “Lasso” - Chicago IL
2021 - “Salvation” - Flint MI
2020 - “The Midas Touch” - Flint MI
2020 - “Your Life as a Comedy” - Chicago IL
2020 - “Looming Large” - Chicago IL
2019 - “Caution: Falling Rock” - Chicago IL
2019 - “Escape Tunnel” - Berwyn IL
2019 - “The Robber” - (Collaboration with Oakoak) NYC
2019 - “ATM Available” - (Collaboration with Oakoak) Chicago IL
2018 - “Center Stage” - Spring Green WI
2018 - “Elevating the Arts” - Chicago IL
2018 - “Wall of Frames” - Berwyn IL
2017 - “Sorry” / “Ode to Camellias” - Nagoya JP
2017 - “Express” / “Rising Water” - Osaka JP
2017 - “Free Bird Seed” / “Walking Away” - Chicago IL
2017 - “Mounted” - Bloomington IL
2016 - “The Weight” - Chicago IL
2016 - “Remorse” - Amsterdam NL
2016 - “Hanging Around” - London UK
2016 - “Kissing feet” - Barcelona ES
2016 - “Framed” (Collaboration with Copyright) - Bristol UK
2015 - “Sorrow” / “Kiss of Death” / “All Tied Up and Nowhere to Go” - Chicago IL