Sam Lee Gallery

Sam Lee Gallery is located in the Chinatown Arts District (CAD) pretty much, but not exactly where most of the galleries are. Most of them are on Chung King Road. It may seem truly impossible to find free parking for this gallery but it isn’t if you know what you are doing. Close by there is a residential area where you can park for free and it’s not more than one or two blocks away.
Sam Lee Gallery is just OK .
Art depends on preference not «taste» as in the case of the previous reviewer who thinks «student» art is mediocre. If you believe you need to have good taste to appreciate art then Sam Lee is for you! They consistently display the kind of art that art snobs most love. That is, highly abstract art — art that requires a degree or at least some art courses for most people to truly appreciate. I always go to Sam Lee when I come to check out Chinatown’s Art District but it usually disappoints me. I don’t really like art that looks like it came from a drafting table and I have seen that type of art here on a couple occasions.
Don’t get me wrong. Sam Lee is very much worth your time as it does display quality art in a nice art space.
If you like the art of the CAD but don’t have the time to go there you might like to check out my blog:

The museum quality shows at Sam Lee Gallery are always a head and shoulder above the mediocre art student fare you’ll find at most of the other new galleries popping up along Chinatown’s Chung King Road. This is due in part to the fact that the gallerist, Sam Lee, has worked for a number of years in established galleries including Peter Fetterman Gallery, Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Jan Kesner Gallery, and Robert Koch Gallery. His shows feature emerging and mid-​career artists — many of whom are Sam Lee’s discoveries — who explore contemporary issues such as post-​911 realities, borders (political, geographic & imagined), travel and technology in an increasingly restricted global environment, and national identities with regard to patriotism and self-​definition. The shows are interesting, provoking, and always worth a look. If I had the money, I’d be spending it here!