Day 33: Turn Around and Look at Shee

Oh my!

We are fortunate and grateful to be able to take (near) daily walks around our neighborhood. Last week, we discovered an artist and his sculpture less than a mile from our house. As we crossed Green Bay Road, we saw sculptures of flowers and women and bears....


Peggy noticed the name Shee. I did a search and found the delightful story of the Artist Shee. (I tried to reach out to him via e-mail but got no response. I am too shy to knock on the door.)

"Rejoicing and Beauty"

Sam Shee moved to the United States from Taiwan in 1965. After 30 years as a pathologist, Dr. Shee began painting in 1993. His first oil painting is called "Rejoicing and Beauty." This began transformation into Artist Shee.



“When I gaze at the ‘Mona Lisa’ in the Louvre Museum, I realize that although the painting is 500 years old, the figure’s mysterious smile is unchanged, giving viewers the same message,” said Shee. “Today, we are still freshly struck by the fascination behind it.

“On the other hand, a physician can be quickly outdated in his skill by not keeping up with continuing medical education. A doctor may be able to prolong life, whereas an artist can affect our lives forever. The course of my life traveled from the scientific field to a cultural one.” Downtown Highland Park, March 2015.

Shee has had over 50 solo exhibitions of his work and maintained studios in Taipei, Paris and Highland Park.

Here are some of his sculptures that can be viewed right here and right now on Bob-O-Link Rd. All sculptures are masonry with wood and metal.

Heart to Heart 2011

Tornados and Tsunami 2012

Taiwan contributed the most relief aid to Japan after the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami. 2011 also saw the most devastating tornados in history, the deadliest being in Joplin, Missouri.

Love Panda 2015

 Shee and Formosa Victory Bear 2017

"Sam Shee's art has long been devoted to the goal of peace, harmony and
communicating with others....
 In his beautiful garden, which is another one of his artistic
creations, the Formosa Bear stands proudly, victoriously, next to the Panda, symbol of
China, with whom it lives peacefully. " Gloria Groom, The Art Institute of Chicago.


In the Highland Park interview of 2015, Shee says, "Visual art as part of the basic culture impacts on the kind of society we live in and leads the civilization of mankind as music and literature do. The culture is as important as, if not greater than, the economy for human existence. With a good or superior culture, a country and its people will survive even without a thriving economy.

Something to think about as some of you contemplate the future.