Lee Lozano (American, 1930–1999) was a renown Conceptual artist and painter of the 20th century, associated with Minimalism and Expressionism at different times in her career. Born in Newark, NJ, Lozano received her BA from the University of Chicago in 1951, and then her BFA from The Art Institute of Chicago in 1960. She moved to New York and began exhibiting with Bianchini Gallery, and befriended artist Carl Andre. Lozano became known for her energetic, scratchy drawings and paintings, with hardware and tools as a favorite subject matter. She eventually moved towards Minimalism, producing a body of stark Wave paintings that was featured in solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York in 1971.

As her reputation grew, Lozano began working in more Conceptual projects that targeted the art world. She began to withdraw from public life, with pieces such as General Strike Piece (1969) and Decide to Boycott Women (1971), where she cut ties and refused to speak or engage with other members of her gender. One of her last works, Dropout Piece, consisted of her withdrawing from her career completely, returning to her parents’ home in Dallas, TX, where she would live until her death from cervical cancer at the age of 68.

Lozano’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at major institutions, including the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens, NY, Hauser & Wirth in Zurich, Switzerland, and Kunsthalle Basel in Basel, Switzerland, among many others.