British, b. 1945
Lee Tribe was educated at Saint Martin’s School of Art and Birmingham School of Art in England, and the New York Studio School. Steel has been integral to his life since his teenage years as a steelworker on the London docks. His early work was highly influenced by this industrial experience and helped him to explore the language and possibilities of non-representational sculpture.
Tribe left the docks, but he didn’t leave behind the skills or inspiration he found there. The cacophony of cultures he discovered makes appearances in his work. He continues to work metal, incorporating cable, chains, rods and hardware into his work.
Tribe’s promise was apparent early, and in 1976 he won an Arts Council of Great Britain Award in Sculpture. He went on to win a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pollock/Krasner Foundation Fellowship, the Ingram Merrill Sculpture Award and the International Sculpture Center Bronze Casting Competition.
Tribe is a teacher as well as an artist. He has guided scores of student sculptors at the New York Studio School, served as artist in residence at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and head of sculpture at Bennington College, and taught at Columbia University, Hunter College, Pratt Institute and the Chautauqua Summer School.
Tribe left the docks, but he didn’t leave behind the skills or inspiration he found there. The cacophony of cultures he discovered makes appearances in his work. He continues to work metal, incorporating cable, chains, rods and hardware into his work.
Tribe’s promise was apparent early, and in 1976 he won an Arts Council of Great Britain Award in Sculpture. He went on to win a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pollock/Krasner Foundation Fellowship, the Ingram Merrill Sculpture Award and the International Sculpture Center Bronze Casting Competition.
Tribe is a teacher as well as an artist. He has guided scores of student sculptors at the New York Studio School, served as artist in residence at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and head of sculpture at Bennington College, and taught at Columbia University, Hunter College, Pratt Institute and the Chautauqua Summer School.
