About

Brennan Lee is an informally-trained jeweler and sculptor living in Berkeley, CA. His background is originally in classical singing, having received a BA in Music from Willamette University in 2013. There, his understanding of the self and its creative practice was profoundly shaped by working in a field where the body itself is the medium. This ultimately led to a passion for jewelry, where the body and the artwork leave indelible marks upon each other. 

Brennan’s preferred mediums are bronze and sterling silver, employing lost wax casting, 3D modeling, and fabrication as his primary tools. Much of his work draws inspiration from Korean history and Victoriana to explore modern-day themes of cultural belonging. Brennan’s work has evolved in many different directions–from ritual objects to metal keycaps for mechanical keyboards–but always informed by and dependent upon physical interaction with the body. 

Currently, he is developing a new series of jewelry and sculpture that reinterprets traditional Korean knots, maedeup, into cast metal forms. By envisioning knots as an analog for the body and reinterpreting them outside of their historical context, he draws connections to his own experience as a transmasculine, biracial Korean-American.

Brennan has served as a wax worker, mold maker, and bronze caster at Artworks Foundry in Berkeley since 2023. He owned and operated the jewelry/accessory brands Unlovable and Glyph Artisans from 2017-2024. Previously, he held positions as a culture worker for Bay Area arts nonprofits including Frameline, AXIS Dance Company, and Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir.

Inquiries may be made to brennanleemetals [at] proton [dot] me.