Immigration of Ceramics

Steven Young Lee

1975

Steven Young Lee is a Korean-American ceramic artist active in the United States. As a second-generation Korean immigrant, he has confronted questions of place and belonging. Against this background, Lee studied Asian ceramics and honed his skills within the Western education system. The artist has shown particular interest in exploring the sources of cultural influence.

Lee served as an art director of Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, a leading ceramic residency in the United States, for 16 years, from 2006 to 2022. In addition, he has given lectures in the States and Asia, including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (2013), the Korean International Ceramic Biennale (2009), and the Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China (2008). Lee has had solo exhibitions around the world, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (2013), Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C. (2016), and Sculpture Factory in Jingdezhen (2005). His works are part of collections such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. and the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum in Alfred, New York.

Steven Young Lee reveals his identity through the modern interpretation of ceramics. He challenges the traditional practice of ceramics, which considers perfect balance as the best, by distorting or breaking in terms of shape. The first impression of the work is the formativeness of a broken or collapsed jar. If looked more closely, one can find harmony in the distorted shapes and the ceramic patterns from various cultures expressed entirely on it. Through this, Lee presents a beauty that deviates from the traditional language of ceramic art. In addition, the artist pays attention to the fact that patterns that have been used for a long period, such as dragons, tigers, and clouds, are incorporated into characters even in modern times, and uses these as the main patterns to strengthen the modernity of ceramics. Incompleteness of form, heterogeneity of conflicting images, and modernity of patterns are characteristics in the Deconstructed series, suggesting a new trend in modern ceramics.

For this exhibition, the artist created new pieces in the United States and stayed in Gwangju for two weeks to create more.