Artist S.H. Lee Visits LaMantia Gallery

hosted a rare personal appearance of S.H. Lee, an artist who is internationally renowned for painting small, intricately detailed interior views on Friday evening.

As guests mingled with each other and the artist, and delighted in  Lee's work, they were reminded why La Mantia Gallery was voted the number gallery in the nation for retail excellence by Décor Magazine in 2005.

According to co-owner James LaMantia, the gallery boasts an international repertoire of artists, and has been showing Lee's work for five years. 

"I learned about Lee's work from a friend who has a gallery down South. No one paints details like he does," LaMantia said, adding that the paintings are magical in the sense that viewers get the impression that they have stepped into a room created by the artist's imagination.

"You can see titles on the books in the paintings and his ability to capture reflection is amazing," LaMantia said.

According to LA Mantia's partner Robert Bluver, Lee , who was born in Canton, China, immigrated to the United States in the 1980s.

"They're bold, they are colorful," Bluver said of Lee's work, adding that, in many respects, Lee's style is reminiscent of the Victorian period.

In terms of décor, Victorians were known for their love of opulence and dramatic  color,  and personalized rooms by prominently displaying  objects of desire, be they family mementos or cherished treasures brought back from trips abroad.

Lee paints on wooden panels and uses a brush containing a single horse hair to achieve the exquisite detail for which he has become known. The fact that the oil paintings are showcased in wide, ornate gilded frames adds to the effect, Bluver explained.

The interior scenes are so realistic that there are often diminutive paintings on the walls of rooms depicted in Lee's paintings, Bluver said.

Owen Coleman, of Northport, capitalized on the opportunity to meet with Lee, and commissioned an interior of his home.

Lee said that he takes him about 10 to 14 days to complete a painting. Of the twenty  uniquely different paintings on display, he said that the one entitled "The Gallery" is his favorite.

This painting also turned out to be the favorite of Jacquelyn and Raphael Friedl, who purchased the piece.

"We are longstanding customers of LaMantia," Jacquelyn said, adding that she and her husband have been following Lee's work and waiting for him to do a show.

Jacquelyn also said that she was very taken with the work of Jaline Pol, a French impressionist painter who is new to the gallery. Pol renders her work  with a palette knife in  bold colors to  create eye-catching, stylized floral still lifes with a sculptural quality.