Lee Chesney III
Lee Chesney, III was born in 1945 and is married with two grown children. Associate Professor Chesney received his B.F.A. in painting from the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana, in ‘69 and an MFA in printmaking from Indiana University, Bloomington in ‘72. His primary field of interest lies in intaglio printmaking and he has been exploring that medium since coming to The University of Texas at Austin Department of Art and Art History in 1972. Within the Department of Art and Art History, Associate Professor Chesney has served in numerous administrative roles including Graduate Advisor (’82 – ’88), and Interim Chair (’11 – ’12) and Deputy to the Chair (’12 –’13).
Chesney's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in over 120 competitive and invitational exhibitions throughout the world. His solo and two-person shows include: The Courtyard Gallery, AT&T Center – Austin, TX; Flatbed Press– Austin, TX; Kilgore College –Kilgore, TX; Mercers Academy, Mercersburg. PA; Widner University–Chester, PA; and the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville, AK; and other venues.
His works are held within 28 prominent collections internationally including: Honolulu Academy of Arts; Graphic Chemical & Ink, Villa Park, Illinois:; Old Jail House Museum, Albany Texas; State University of New York, Potsdam, New York; San Diego State University; University of Illinois, Champaign; Indiana University, Bloomington; U. S. Embassy, Rome, Italy; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; and others. Additionally, his work is in public collections in Paris, Rome, Peking, Pretoria, Hong Kong, Boston, San Diego, and Honolulu. His work has been exhibited in numerous group exhibitions world-wide.
Following the traditions of his background and training, his work prior to 1987 was entirely abstract, using geometric shapes and organic/diaphanous spaces to evoke feelings and relationships within the viewer. A reawakened interest in American history as subject matter for his prints has guided his experimentations into investigating landscape forms and the viscosity color process, his current research focus. Recent work has returned to abstraction and a fascination with line and mark itself.
