Alice Lee, Blue White Carved Porcelain Lamp, 2025, Porcelain, 13 x 6 x 6 in, Cylindrical shaped porcelain lamp w/ carvings and blue details

Alice Lee is a Seattle-based ceramic artist working primarily in porcelain, creating both functional vessels and carved luminaries. Her process begins on the wheel, where she forms vessels that are later carved to reveal texture, movement, and the interplay of light across the surface. Through this layered approach, she transforms simple forms into works that emphasize depth and subtle visual rhythm.

Her practice is shaped by her Asian American heritage and Buddhist philosophy. Raised in San Francisco's Chinatown by parents who immigrated from Vietnam and Hong Kong, Lee grew up surrounded by strong cultural motifs and symbolic traditions that continue to inform her aesthetic sensibility. Rather than replicating traditional forms, she draws from these influences to develop a personal visual language that reflects her experience of living between cultures in the Pacific Northwest.

Light plays a central role in her carved porcelain luminaries. As illumination passes through the translucent surface, layers of texture and carving are revealed, creating shifting effects as the viewer moves around the work. This interaction produces a quiet sense of movement and presence within a space. Lee is interested in how these objects can introduce warmth, mindfulness, and care into everyday environments, fostering moments of reflection and connection.