Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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Ben Weiner painted this photorealist standout. THE ASIAN-ART BUFFS The home of Gregory and Dana Lee comes to life with calligraphic brushstrokes and imposing statues. "I f I could—if I had the time and budget—I'd be buying art every single day," admits Vegas resident and philanthropist Dana Lee. "What you see in this collection is restraint, because I really, really love art." Lee considers the stunning James Nares painting in the entryway of her home with a mix of admiration and affection. She has so much to say about the artist—how he suspends himself in a harness to create the movement of his brushstroke and how he's exhibited at top venues, from the Museum of Modern Art in New York to the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid. "It's all in the freedom of the aerial gesture," she says of the blue waves of metallic pigment across the canvas. "When Greg and I learned it was called Survival of the Luckiest (2008), we thought, That's it—that's for us." Luck and Vegas are obvious bedfellows. Dana's husband, Gregory Lee, is chairman and CEO of Eureka Casino. The couple moved here 17 years ago from the East Coast, where Dana earned an art history degree at Brown University and an Arts Management MA at Carnegie-Mellon. "Going to galleries is how my friends and I spent our free time," she says. "Even then, I was buying what I could—small works I loved and wanted to live with." While traces of Lee's youthful finds still hang in her home, the mature Lee collection—the culmination of 20 years of careful acquisition—focuses on recent works by cutting-edge artists. A three-foot-tall, bright-electricblue dinosaur by Sui Jianguo (Made in China, 2008) playfully roars next to the staircase, while Mark Sheinkman's oil and graphite canvas (Untitled, 2009) elegantly undulates above the fireplace. 90 "Most of our travel is art-based," Lee says. "There's a wonderful, necessary stimulation in seeing what's showing in art fairs and museums." There is also a lot of work: Lee keeps files on artists that intrigue her, reads criticism, and bookmarks must-see exhibitions. At the Lee residence on the edge of Vegas—"an art house," she says, pointing to art tracks built into the walls—floor-to-ceiling windows frame both landscape and art; in the backyard, a yellow Julie Speidel "totem" (Kala Patter, 2010) perches like a prehistoric creature, a 3-D petroglyph in welded bronze. "The works we've chosen, and where we've elected to install them, reflect a sense of calm," Lee says. "Calligraphy is a theme." The Lees' interest in calligraphic gesture stems from their appreciation of Asian traditions. Exquisite pieces of Asian art mingle with the latest in contemporary works, including a vintage Chinese jadite decorative screen mounted on the wall near the Sui dinosaur. A gorgeous 180-inch by 90-inch Pae White tapestry commission hangs in the den: Smoke (2012), portrays vibrant arabesques of curving volumes. "The swirls of smoke in the tapestry," she says, "remind me of the clouds in the sky here." A more direct Nevada connection to the collection are striking works by Tim Bavington and David Ryan, who got their start here under the tutelage of critic David Hickey. Supporting the local arts community and education is at the center of Lee's philanthropic mission. Currently she is working with a group to develop a new visual arts organization and educational center for the city. "Vision and dreams," she says, "take a long time." VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 088-095_V_Feat_Art_Win13.indd 90 1/2/13 2:43 PM