Vessel Trio, c. 2005 - 2010

Heeseung Lee

Terracotta

Various sizes

Inscribed Signature on each piece

This delightful trio by Heeseung Lee brings together playful color, unexpected imagery, and an imaginative mix of forms. The three works create a lively conversation between history and nature, tradition and playfulness-a distinctive collection full of color, character, and visual surprises.

Artist Statement

I choose to work functionally because clay has an inherent characteristic that fosters utility. Moreover, I want to create work that is tangible for the viewer. I feel that functional objects signify the everyday and everyone has constant contact with these objects within the context of their own lives, homes, and worlds. I feel that function creates a viable entry point for most viewers to move beyond the threshold, and into the world of the arts.

Currently, as I make my own work, I reference the everyday objects of Asian culture. Imagery embroidered on clothing is encoded with auspicious meaning, enchanting the everyday lives of the wearer by allowing the richness and significance of the world to emerge. Our lives should constantly be touched by the beauty and significance of what we at first glance, consider the mundane.

I have taken patterns from the stylized linear landscapes of Korean screen paintings, colors from Japanese lacquer-ware, and compositional arrangements from various Asian textiles. I have gleaned cloud-like masses and undulating geometric lines to create abstract patterns that compliment my vessels. I borrow from the dense symbolic language that has been cultivated throughout Asia for centuries, and I imbue my pottery with auspicious imagery to bring good luck to the user. I am infatuated with the layering of patterns and textures, creating visual rhythm and energy, defining space, and alluding to the evidence of the passage of time.

I aim to forge a subtle balance of dualities in the work that I create. I juxtapose the eloquent and the satirical, the organic and the geometric, and the sublime and the mundane. As objects, my work embodies the passive, and as functional vessels, my work signifies the active.

Artist Biography

Heeseung Lee earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She uses the functional aspects of her vessels to create an entry point for viewers to go beyond the threshold of a utilitarian object and into the world of art. Lee plays with patterns from the stylized linear landscapes of Korean screen paintings, colors from Japanese lacquer-ware, and compositional arrangements from various Asian textiles to embellish her ceramic vessels. Lee is infatuated with the layering of pattern and textures, creating visual rhythm and energy, defining space, and alluding to the evidence of the passage of time.

Pieces of this lot were donated by the Family of Marge and Phil Kalodner, and the Grainer Family.

• Winning Raffles are announced at 10:15 pm EST on September 26th
• If attending the event in person winners may pick up their Raffle in the first floor Gallery at 10:30 pm
• Any winner not in attendance will be contacted on Monday September 28th.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.
• please note: one raffle sheet is 10 tickets for $10, or three sheets of 10 (total 30 tickets) for $25