Lee Seung-hee goes beyond typical notions of ceramics

Lee Seung-hee's "Synchronicity" ceramic bamboo grove installation at Park Ryu Sook Gallery in central Seoul / Courtesy of Park Ryu Sook Gallery

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Ceramist Lee Seung-hee breaks away from the traditional notions of practical porcelain.

"Ceramics immediately relate to practicality as we are familiar with utility products such as dishes and jars. However, I am more interested in the property of its surface. My ceramic painting extracts the color and shape of white porcelain and presents it in relief style," Lee said during a press conference introducing his solo exhibition "Synchronicity" at Park Ryu Sook Gallery in central Seoul

At the exhibit, Lee presents his creation of a black bamboo grove made from ceramics titled "Synchronicity" and his signature ceramic tile painting series "TAO."

Lee's ceramic bamboo grove was inspired by the tale of red bamboo trees by Chinese poet Su Tungpo. Interpreting the tale with contemporary senses, Lee creates a paradox between the flexibility of real bamboo and the rigidity of pottery.

Each joint of the bamboo is a ceramic unit in different colors and glosses of black.

"I tested numerous glazes and used 12 black glazes for these bamboo trees. Though they look the same at first glance, you will find subtle different mixes of gloss and matt in various shades of black when examined closely," Lee said.

Lee dimmed the lights of the space, making the visitors walk through the black bamboo forest with less visibility to arouse other senses.

"I don't want to define what the viewers have to feel or how to understand this installation, but each visitor would find their own experiences while in this bamboo grove," he said.

Lee Seung-hee's "TAO 12076" is on view at his exhibition at the Clayarch Gimhae Museum in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. Courtesy of Clayarch Gimhae Museum

For the "TAO" series, creation of a ceramic painting takes much time and patience.

"I have to make the water mixed with clay to the right concentration so it is thin enough to brush. I add a layer of clay water a day, after the previous layer is dried. It takes about two to three months to finish a ceramic painting," Lee explained.

"If I get impatient and apply twice a day, it would ruin the whole thing I have spent months working on. So I split my studio into three different places, placing one ceramic painting in progress in each. In this way, I can push each of them out of my mind when I am in another studio."

The Seoul exhibition runs through Oct. 2.

Meanwhile, another major exhibition of Lee is ongoing at the Clayarch Gimhae Museum in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. The exhibition was extended through Nov. 29, but the museum is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The retrospective features a wide range of Lee's works, from his early "Clayzen" series to the latest pieces created for this exhibition.

Lee Seung-hee's "Synchronicity" is installed on the floor of the Dome House in the Clayarch Gimhae Museum. Lee's exhibition "TAO" is on view through Nov. 29. Courtesy of Clayarch Gimhae Museum

"Synchronicity" is expressed here as ceramic tiles on the floor of the museum's Dome House. Created exclusively for the circular gallery, the minimal installation changes constantly depending on the time, light and viewing point. It has infinite variances as the weather and lighting change constantly, despite the artist's intention after installation. Lee said he hopes the artwork will evoke curiosity and doubt and make viewers appreciate the artwork from various viewpoints for a lengthy time.

Lee's works are widely appreciated overseas as well, as his works embody the spirit of Korean ceramics while exploring new concepts in the medium.

He took part in the Constancy and Change in Traditional Korean Art exhibition as part of the Triennale Milano in 2015 and the Contemporary Korean Ceramics Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2017.

In 2018, Lee presented his ceramic tile and bamboo works at the Waterfall Gallery in New York. The gallery noted Lee's "unusual approach to ceramics," saying, "In a genius format he is able to duplicate these images of fine porcelain onto ceramic tiles, while replicating and retaining their original beauty."

While being contemporary, Lee takes inspirations from ancient ceramic pieces.

Lee said an exhibition at the Museum Richo in Kyoto, Japan, last year was a memorable one. The private museum specializes in artifacts from the Joseon Kingdom and Lee was able to examine the blue and white porcelain from the museum's collection.

"It is difficult to see historical porcelain from every direction, since a photo from the front is only available in general. The museum generously allowed me to have a closer look at the porcelain in their collection and I was able to take pictures from 12 directions," Lee recalled.

With the pictures taken, Lee created 12 ceramic paintings of the blue-and-white ware, showing all sides at a glance.

"As I travel around the world, I encountered some great Korean porcelain, collected overseas. I would love to interpret them in my ceramic paintings and exhibit them in Korea, which would add another layer of context to them," the artist said. "I think we are bound to the narrow concept of baekja, or white porcelain, of Korea. If we have more references, we could understand it better."

"During my New York exhibit, I was invited to the Metropolitan Museum of Art before a public opening. Looking at (Mark) Rothko paintings, the Temple of Dendur and donated collections in tranquility was a rare experience," Lee said.

"My solo exhibition at the Cheongju Museum of Art earlier this year also remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic for many days. At the empty gallery, I have been thinking a lot, staring my works, which suddenly looked unfamiliar to me. I pondered on what I have to do in the future."

Lee has been working in Jingdezhen, a Chinese region famous for its porcelain, since 2008. However, he couldn't go there for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had to move to his old studio in Cheongju, in search of new possibilities.

"I don't want to be known as a ceramic artist, but working with clay is my undeniable identity. I am mostly known for my ceramic tile paintings, but I have a wider variety of works and all of them are related to clay or porcelain in some way. That's just me and I'm looking forward to doing more work," he said.