In Studio

2024 – January – It is always wonderful to start a new year by having my art exhibited in venues new to me: My Techspressionism print Broken Dream is in Abstraction, Omnibus Gallery, Dresden, Germany online Jan. 15 – Feb. 30, This exciting 3D exhibition was curated by Light Bear … thank you for including me. Also, several of my Techspressionism prints are in the 3D online exhibition Cyberiana, watch for guided tours posted on Facebook and Instagram. Further, my Time Plane13 mixed-media drawing is in Embrace The Essence: Circles, Squares, Triangles from Jan. 5 – Mar. 5 at BiafarinOnLine.
March – Thank you Juror Thomas Harris for including my photograph Ice Box in the 42nd National Juried Photography Exhibition, Larson Gallery, Yakima, WA. My Techspressionism print Sightline 1 will be in Digital Creations, ArtistonishZine online through April 30.
2023 – February
– My Indigenous Spirit #3, digital Techpressionism archival print is in the exhibit The Artist Intervenes, Praxis Photo Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN. Thank you Aline Smithson, Editor, Lenscratch and curator of the exhibit. I love the theme of this exhibit and I’m honored to have my art included in it.
March – My painting A Formidable Wall, is in the exhibit Honor: People & Salmon, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA. Thank you curator Britt Freda
June – My painting, Thinking To Oneself, is featured at the 2023 International Dream Conference, Ashland, OR. Thank you Walter Berry for inviting my participation. My next romantic thriller novel, Off Kilter, has been released via publisher Black Rose Writing. (click Books & Short Stories above for details). This book is the sequel to my first book Brushed Off and has received a 5 Star rating and Gold Book Award from Literary Titan. I hope you enjoy it and if you do please post your review and/or rating.
August – One of my Duchampian Readymade photographs of ephemera staged on ice was selected for inclusion in the exhibition Order/Disorder, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN. Plus, the image was selected for the cover of the exhibition catalog. Thank you gallery directors. Two interviews about my history as an artist and author are posted online by VoyageLA. Here are the links: http://voyagela.com/interview/daily-inspiration-meet-lee-musgrave/ and  https://shoutoutla.com/meet-lee-musgrave-artist-author/ … thank you publisher Ravinah Shah.
September – publisher Black Rose Writing has made my third novel, The Beautiful One, available for preorder. If you purchase it prior to the publication date of November 16 and use promo code:  PREORDER2023 you will receive a 15% discount. Here is the link  https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/thebeautifulone. The story is a romantic thriller set in 1912 Cairo and Berlin. Click on Books & Short Stories above for more info. 
2022 – January –
From the 14th, Umpqua Valley Arts Center (Roseburg, OR) is presenting When in the Woods, a special group exhibition through March 25 which includes 3 of my most recent abstract nature photographs. It’s honor to have them in an engagingly themed exhibit.
March – the wonderful folks at New York Photo Curator posted 3 creative portraits of me on their Facebook and Instagram accounts to promote their “The I – A Call for Self-Portraiture” online exhibit. Thank you, curator Ellen Friedlander.
April – I’m honored to have my Celestial Light & Line #4 print in the exhibition Techspressionism: Digital & Beyond, Southampton Arts Center, Southampton, NY through July 24. Thank you, curator/artist Colin Goldberg. An exhibition catalog, with forward by Helen A. Harrison, Director of Pollock-Krasner House & Study Center is available in print and online.
July – one of my favorite Techspressionism prints, Celestial Swirl #12, was featured in ArtistonishZine a contemporary online art magazine. Thank you, curator Hannah.
August – Three of my staged abstract photos are in Garbology, a special exhibition featuring 15 artists reflecting on the theme of ‘trash’, Hollerbach Art Haus, Sanford, FL though October 26. The exhibit, organized and curated by Moriah Russo, is a fund raiser for Haven for Injured and Orphaned Wildlife. Check it out at www.hollerbachsarthaus.com.
September – I’m honored to be invited to present a free overview of my abstract photography on Open Show L.A. #68 via Zoom, September 20, 6pm (PT). I will show 26 images with a Q&A session as well. Thank you, co-producers Richard Chow and Jonas Yip. Check it out online at www.openshowla.com.
December – Just informed by my publisher Reagan Rothe at Black Rose Writing that he will release my second novel, Off Kilter on June 15, 2023.  If you would like to sample some of my creative noir writing, short story prequels are available via https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story, B0BNKDVK89. The first episode of each story is FREE.(click Book Debut above for my info).
2021- March – the ongoing international health crisis continues to limit exhibition opportunities. However, my book publisher, Black Rose Writing, has released Brushed Off, my debut romantic suspense novel set within the contemporary art community of Los Angeles. The book is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Good Reads and other bookstores as well as from BRW. You can read 5-star reviews about it by clicking on Book Debut above.
May – the international art community is becoming active again. My Winter Stratum photography series received an award in The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards/16th Pollux Awards Abstract Series, thank you judge Julio Hirsch-Hardy. The Motif Collective shortlisted my abstract nature photo Light Struck as a top tier image for their Black & White project. Their continued interest in my work is much appreciated.
June – For those who are interested in cutting edge art & technology check out the video “Techspressionist Salon #19 – Gregory Little & Lee Musgrave, June 8, 2021″ on YouTube. In my segment (which starts at 44:27 I present an overview of my artwork including my most recent photo-based computer altered images.
September – The online edition of Al-Tiba9 Art Magazine (issue #9) includes an interview with me along with several of my most recent staged abstract photographs. Thank you Carlotta Mazzoli. Paintings from my Real Time Memories Series are featured online at Artavita.com… thank you.
Posted Now – Techspressionism 2021, this special online exhibition showcases recent work by 100 artists from over 30 countries world wide who utilize technology as a means of personal expression. The exhibition is presented on a Kunstmatrix 3D platform. I am honored to have my work included in the exhibition … thank you curators Colin Goldberg, Patrick Lichty and Helen Harris.
2020 – JanuaryThe Motif Collective, based in Florida, shortlisted my semi-abstract photograph ‘Caution‘ as a toptier image for their Minimalism project and my ‘Compliance’ for their Street project. I appreciate their interest in my work.
February – Noted curator Sybylla Smith selected my Nitty Gritty Crux 3 and Readymade Duchampian Equalibrium 1 photographs for inclusion in the exhibit The Heart Goes Nine at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence, RI from Feb. 20 – Mar. 13. I’m cheered by Ms. Smith’s choices for this is the first time my work has been exhibited in Rhode Island.
March – Thanks to Jurors Terry Sutherland, Penny Wolin and Michele Cairella-Filmore my most recent abstract photo, Strategic, is in the Annual Photography Exhibition at LA Artcore Gallery, Los Angeles. UPDATE – due to the ongoing international health crisis, the group exhibit In Between set for Milan, Italy was re-scheduled for 2021; the exhibits at LA Artcore Gallery (Los Angeles) and Blue Sky Gallery (Portland, OR) were closed early.  Berlin based DekUnu Magazine selected my Squared Up Series of contemporary photos as 1 of 3 finalists for their March issue.
April, May, June – due to the ongoing health crisis there were no new request for artwork from my studio so I have been creating new works and continue to write my second novel (click on Book Debut above).
July – Received notification one of my staged still life photos will be in the exhibit Still Life at Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, Aug. 21 – Sept. 15. Thank you curator Ann Jastrab. The selected photo is from my Readymade Duchampian Equalibrium Series which has also been featured in The Photo Review Magazine and F-Stop Magazine.
October – Three images from my abstract Squared Up photo series were exhibited in Focal Point, at The Foundry Centre, Saint Charles, MO from October 2 – November 19. Thank you curator Robin Assner-Alvey. Two of the selected images were never exhibited before. An exhibit catalog is available. Two images from my abstract photography series Nitty Gritty Crux are being featured in the online exhibit “Female” at www.bestpicture.com/best-of-the-month. The exhibit also includes photos by artists in Norway, Berlin, Saudi Arabia, and Las Vegas. My images were inspired by the L’Origine du monde by G. Courbet.
December – My debut novel Brushed Off is now available for preorder. To read 5 star reviews about it click on Book Debut above.
2019 – January – I continued organizing my new studio. February – Happily my abstract still-life photograph, Laurels Alight 1, was exhibited in the 3rd Annual Photographic Exhibition at LA Artcore Gallery, Los Angeles.
March – three of my ever popular Fiddle Diddle With Red Bean abstract still-life photographs were featured in the exhibit “Art Is Personal” at Ateller Pilar Gueil, Barcelona, Spain. This unique Series has been featured in Artness Contemporary Art Magazine, Create Magazine, DoHo Magazine, LandEscape Magazine and The Photo Review Magazine plus exhibited at Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, Galerie Sehnsucht, Rotterdam, NL, and in the 2018 Barcelona Foto Biennale.
April – I’m honored to have 10 images from my Light Ring Caress series of abstract still-life photographs selected by curators Melanie Flood and Terry Novak for inclusion in the 2019/20 PNW Photo Viewing Drawers program at Blue Sky Gallery, Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, Portland, OR. The prints will be available for viewing and purchase through March 31, 2020. Plus the series is featured in L’Oeil de Photographie online 2016 zine and on www.lensculture.com.
May – It’s an honor to have two of my abstract photographs selected by Adam Finkelston, Editor of Hand Magazine, for inclusion in Abstract 2019 at the SE Center for Photography, Greenville SC and to have one selected by Danielle Knapp (Curator Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art) for inclusion in Artworks NW at the Umpqua Valley Arts Gallery, Roseburg, OR.
June – With a forward written by Alexis Culotta, Art Ascent Magazines “Abstract” issue (page 60) features my Light Ring Caress 26 and CC Rider 8 staged abstract photographs. It’s a joy to have my work in this special edition. 
July – While I have not seen Issue 5 of Pastiche Magazine based in Miami, FL the editors told me that it includes some of my abstract photographs. Thank you Pastiche.
SeptemberStephen Perloff, editor of The Photo Review Magazine & his staff have organized an online exhibit that includes my Readymade Duchampian Equalibrium 1 photograph. Each photo in the exhibit was selected from their Annual International Photo Competition. The exhibit is at http://www.photoreview.org/wordpressindex/2019-competition-web-galleries/. Thank you Stephen and crew.
OctoberChristy Karpinski, editor of F-STOP Photography Magazine has included 3 of my abstract still life photos in their online Issue 97 – Abstraction 2019
2018 – The first 3 months of this year were extremely hectic for we constructed a new home and studio … and begun moving into them so everything was somewhat chaotic. However, despite the strain my studio work managed to continue garnering notice.
January – Adam Finkelston, publisher and co-editor of The Hand Magazine selected one of my most recent abstract photos, Sweet Reign 3, for inclusion in the exhibit Abstract at the SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC. His response to my work is much appreciated.
February – Daniel Miller, director of the Duncan Miller Gallery, Santa Monica, selected my Light Ring Essence 2 abstract photo to offer on his popular YourDailyPhotograph.com listing. He is a noted specialist in important classic and contemporary photographic works of art and I’m especially happy that my work attracted his attention.
March – A5 Magazine (a small British publication) featured my Joyous Misbehavin’ 1 abstract photo. Also, this month, the International Gala Awards awarded my photography Second Runner-up Finalist for the 11th Pollux Awards, Abstract Category (I believe that means 3rd Place) and they included it in a major exhibit in Barcelona in the Fall. The work that got their attention is my Fiddle Diddle With Red Bean Series. As Spring began, Gallery25N.com featured one of my very rare street photographs in the exhibit Faces of Humanity 2018. They have over 26,000 subscribers worldwide plus you can check-out their video about the exhibit on YouTube. The photo is of a young man playing a didgeridoo in the central plaza of Adelaide, Australia. I really enjoyed his music.
April – My abstract photography was included in Wunderkammer, a special exhibition curated by noted artist Rommert Boonstra for Galerie Sehnsucht, Rotterdam, NL. Also this month, my Tickled Fancy Series was honored with a 2017 award from the Tokyo International Foto Awards. This particular series has been very popular for it has been featured in 7 exhibitions and 3 magazines internationally. Also beginning this month, my work can be seen on Instagram (leemusgrave_art). From April 27 through May 23, my black & white abstract photography was exhibited in Minneapolis, MN, at the Praxis Gallery in their Mono-Kromatik exhibit.
May – It was heart warming for me to have one of my favorite images from my Flit Cue series (2014) included in the 2nd Annual Black & White exhibition on www.fusionartps.com from May 1-31. Thank you Chris & Valerie for your interest in my work.
June – My Interface Shift series of abstract photos were featured on two pages in ArtAscent Magazine, Volume 31 and it’s great to know that a whole new group of fine art photography appreciators were introduced to my work.
August – Two of my staged abstract photographs were selected for inclusion in the 3rd Artist’s Choice exhibition on www.fusionartps.com. Thank you Chris & Valerie for your interest in my work. Also this month the editor of e-zine WakeUpScreaming.com Edition #13 Trees notified me that several of my Surrealistic paintings inspired by old growth trees will be featured along with an accompany article. Many of those paintings can be viewed by clicking on Painting above.
SeptemberPhoto Review Magazine, organized an exhibit curated by Sarah Meister, Photography Curator, Museum of Modern Art, New York who included image #12 from my Tilled Dream With Sleeping Cat Series in the Still-Life section. I’m always happy to have my work in this wonderful magazine. The exhibit will be posted on their website in January.  Also this month, Diana Fernandez, editor of Artness Contemporary Magazine included an interview with me that features five of my most popular staged abstract photographs.
October – from the 4 through 21, 3 of my Fiddle Diddle with Red Bean award winning staged abstract photographs were included in the Barcelona Foto Biennale curated by Julio Hirsch-Hardy and I was a speaker there in a round table discussion, along with other featured artists, on the theme “Is Photography Booming While Dying As An Artform?”. The discussion was filmed and is available to view on the Biennale’s website and social media outlets..
2017 – Despite the world-wide political turmoil of late, 2017 has started off well in regards to my studio activities … this week I received a digital copy of the LandEscape Contemporary Art Review, Anniversary Edition and it generously includes 16 pages of text and photos about my abstract photography. The majority of the article consists of an interview I gave to curators Katherine Williams and Josh Ryder. Their thoughtful and engaging questions focused primarily on my approach to art and on what reactions I hope my work generates from viewers. Considering that each edition of LandEscape Art Review garners an average of over 300,000 readers it will be fascinating to see what feedback the article generates. If you would like to view the edition it can be found at: https://joom.ag/8gdW/p46.
Julia Dolan, Curator of Photography at the Portland Art Museum invited me to include my abstract photograph titled Tickled Fancy #44 in the 40th National Photography Exhibition, Larson Gallery, Yakima, WA. I’m very appreciative of her interest in my work. This photo has been very popular for it was featured in the inaugural issue of Create Magazine, selected as a finalist for The Royal Photographic Society’s International 2016 Print Exhibition and Stephen Perloff, Editor of The Photo Review selected it for the magazine’s 2016 Garden Party Invitation, an annual gala for collectors, curators, writers and artists. During the Spring, it was included in the national Luck of the Draw exhibition at the new, amazing Foundry Art Center, Saint Charles, MO. The exhibit featured work by 35 artists from 17 states each of whom use a contemporary approach to drawing. You can view the photo on my Photography page just click on the button above.
It is with great interest that I await the inaugural issue of Blended, a new collective art zine, for it will include an article about my most recent abstract photography series. Blended will be published on line and in print as well as shared on social media. It will be available soon.

Joyous Misbehavin 10

Aus Tree Bark 16

September – I’m very happy to report that my abstract photography was featured at the 9th Pollux Awards Exhibition and Aus Tree Bark #16 (left) was considered for inclusion in the London International Photography Festival … as the title implies it is a cropped photo of tree bark I found in Adelaide, Australia. Tree bark is one of my favorite subjects to photograph thus I have several Series about it. Joyous Misbehavin’ #10 (right) is one of the images that was in the 9th Pollux Awards Exhibition at Galeria Valid Foto, Barcelona, Spain . That Series has been featured in Create Magazine and LandEscape Art Review.
August – construction began on our new home and my new studio . . . and Heidi and I moved into a small trailer sited at the far north-east end of the property. Thus, all of my studio supplies have been placed in storage. As a consequence I am not able to paint at all, but can use my computer each day to edit and finish many of the archived photos I’ve taken in the past few years. I enjoy the process, however, concentrating on images constantly strains one’s eyes so to give my visual cortex a break I’ve continued writing my second novel.
Yes, you read that correctly . . . my second novel. My first novel, Brushed-off, a romantic neo-noir murder mystery set in Los Angeles’ art community and consisting of over 78,000 words, was completed over a year ago. This second book features the same main characters involved in another murder mystery. At the same time I’m actively searching for a literary agent and/or publisher. I chose LA as the setting for these stories because of its history with this particular genre and because I lived there most of my life.
November 21: This week I received a gracious e-mail from Maxim Panes, founder & director of Dodho Magazine stating that he has included an article about my abstract photography art in the current online edition of the magazine. Dodho Magazine features the best of contemporary fine art photography, bringing together diverse bodies of work by artists from around the globe. With more than one million annual visits and half a million pages viewed monthly, Dodho Magazine has managed to become the fastest growing photo magazine and become a benchmark among galleries, curators and other publishers world-wide. It is published in online versions and every six months in a printed version. I am grateful for their interest and support of my work. The article includes 19 of my images. Here is a link: https://www.dodho.com/lee-musgrave-ephemeral-treasure-revealed-celebrated/

Lee & Misty 1.11.17

Sadly, in late winter, my blues loving, enthusiastic hiking and devoted studio companion Misty (right) passed away. I miss her dearly.

 
 

2016 – International Exhibition Excursion

billboard-in-berlin-lee-musgraveDuring fall the studio was closed for several weeks while Heidi and I were in Europe. We enjoyed concerts, plays, art exhibits and strolling around historical sites in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, and Germany then spent a few days in Berlin to participate in the Berlin Foto Biennale at the Palazzo Italia.
curatorjuliohirsch-hardyBiennale curator Julio Hirsch-Hardy (right: talking with visitors) generously showed me through the spacious galleries of the Palazzo during the installation of the exhibition and I was impressed with how his crew graciously handled all of the numerous challenges associated with mounting an exhibition of this scale for the finished installation consists of over 1200 photographs by more than 440 artists… perhaps the largest contemporary photography exhibit ever held at a single venue in Europe.galleryvisitorsviewingl-musgravesphotos
The large crowd of viewers at the Opening Reception was enthusiastic and eager to meet the artists. As one of the very few who specializes in abstract photography it was a treat for me to talk with people from all over the world who are interested in my work (left: visitors viewing my work) and I’m deeply grateful to Julio for acknowledging my creative approach to the subject in the exhibition’s handsome official catalog and other related material. The exhibition attracted hundreds of visitors daily for an entire month.
 
 


2015Searching for Elegance Within Chaos: Invincible Elements

Photography work table (covered by re-purposed bits and pieces of recycled found stuff). The framed photographs on the left are ready for exhibition.

Almost daily, Lee Musgrave experiments with the assortment of repurposed supplies that have accumulated on his photography work table. “I toss bits and pieces of it about just to see how it looks. If nothing grabs me then I shuffle it or add more stuff… or delete some… and look again,” said Musgrave.

(Click on each image to enlarged it)
 

Often the aesthetic elegance generated by this process ignites his visual cortex, sends a shot of adrenalin through his veins and he instinctively reaches for his camera.
“Fate is my collaborator when I encounter the unforeseen ways chance has arranged the objects; striking combinations of colors and textures; conspicuous shadows; a remarkable edge to an exquisite form… I find the dynamics of spontaneity and the bravura of tensions to all be alluring.”
Thoughtful, comprehensive cropping of the photographs merges each images randomness with conscious creation, creating a balance between the forces of the rational and irrational.
Lee usually takes ten photographs of what he has tossed onto the light pad and he shakes the pad between each shot which gives every photograph its own unique composition. After down loading the photographs he makes three copies of each image, rotates them and crops out a singular image from each. This process provides him with at least 30 images to cull a new Series from. This is why each of his Series’ have a very cohesive look. After completing a shoot he remixes all or part of the materials on the pad back into the pile on the work table or discards it.
“I use chance in an almost figurative way and the expressionist results requires the viewer to think “chance” for objects are on top of each other, in many formats, and in surprising tints, tones, shapes, textures, gestures and moods,” stated Lee. “I love having options to select from.”
While chance runs counter to most people’s conceptions of art, it has been a vital component of art since its very beginning and the images Lee captures through cropping are evocative of that history.
“My success in photographing chance created abstract images comes from the fact that my interest in abstraction came long before my interest in photography… it has been a passion of mine since my childhood. I created my first abstract drawings when I was very young and made my first serious Series at 13… and I still have them. That devotion is what enables me to produce engaging abstract photographs from everyday common materials.”
Musgrave’s work gains visual force through tapping into the established strengths of Abstract Expressionism, Hard-Edge, and Color Field and their respective ideologies while pushing toward new forms and terrain with his own distinctive pictorial lexicon.
“To me the inescapable appeal of these images is immediate and expressive of spontaneous gestures that are based on insights gained from my many years of creating abstract work,” Lee mused. “Most contemporary photography has been occupied with recurrent themes… and probably always will be. When it turns inward to express beauty and visual aesthetic pleasure it usually drifts toward surrealism and fantasy, but still well within the representational genre. At the root of those creative processes is the sixth sense of instinctive intellectual drive. It flashes before our eyes, holds us and pulls us in and says ‘don’t miss this’. That trice is what abstract photography is all about. It goes directly toward ones inner thoughts, makes us pause and takes us beyond provocation and coincidence to a visual epistle that transcends our fundamental understanding of life.”
To view Lee’s abstract photography visit the Photography page.
 


2014
The photo (left) is of three paintings Musgrave recently completed. He uses an impasto painting technique and often works on large canvases. The painting partially shown behind the step stool is actually 8′ h x 56″ w.
The primary inspiration for these new paintings came from Lee’s concern for mankind’s destructive alterations to the natural environment and the resulting excessive soil erosion.
Musgrave’s approach to both his painting and studio photography work has always been to “take advantage of chance”. That is to say, he uses a painting process that allows for his instinctual drives to tap into his subliminal mind.
Each of his paintings starts off with a paint and/or modeling paste impasto spontaneously smeared onto the canvas, rather than carefully applied. This creates a gestural abstraction that reveals his physical act of painting. After this initial step is dry, he then applies a thin wash of black acrylic over the entire canvas and allows it to seep into the low areas of the impasto. During this stage the painting is usually placed flat on the studio floor.
Staring at this raw image evokes emotions and feelings deep within Musgrave and “speaks” to him in a visual language about the nature forms he can render from within it. While listening intently to that intuitive language he then sets about delineating those forms… taking advantage of chance.
At the same time, Lee’s work continues to express his fascination with utilizing scale to challenge and shift how the world may be perceived. He does that by exploring the physical and conceptual characteristics of depth perception and assumed scale, from the monumental to the microscopic.
His concern for the environment and the future of humanity also emerges from each painting as an unsettling undercurrent of mankind’s cumulative impact on nature. This is most evident in how he depicts the inter-action between water and soil in each painting. “For me, comprehending scale and depth perception is essential in understanding and appreciating the natural world… indeed, the universe and ones place in it,” stated Musgrave.

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