My individual perception is the basis of my work. The sun as it reflects off the dried foliage and man-made articles against the grate of the gutter. The overly affectionate couple playfully arguing under the harsh florescent light at the Vons grocery store. Perception of the bereaved widow who settled into the middle of the love seat where many sat and many more would come as I was their therapist to define and assist in repairing the ailment and anguish. They are all studied and abstracted in effort to challenge the flatness of linguistics and generic visual expression.

I work to challenge initial impression and understanding of what is presented, with respect to the layers and complexities. My apple is not your apple. My sovereign understanding is asking you to question yours. 

My work is about difference perception people have over similar or shared experience, terms, and thus meanings; fragmentation.  The subjectivity of I and other from observer to object, peer to peer vs. medical expert to patient is the question at hand. I question where and how diagnostics and terms fit and form linguistic labels that are latent with judgement and are compounded into identity. Inspired by the intellectual tapestry woven by the Picture's movement, I play with archetypal forces inherent within found imagery, that reverberate from the collective unconscious. The final works are manually constructed, hand-painted edited versions of collage studies and sketches. 

Many of the titles draw upon psychiatric terminology and diagnostic criteria from the commonly Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-5). aka “psychiatry bible” 

Lee Spitz (b. Detroit, MI) graduated from Scripps College in 2010, Received her Master’s in Family Therapy and Art Therapy from Loyola Marymount University in 2018. Lee attended Art Center School of Design MFA program in 2020. Lee currently resides in Los Angeles CA.