Lee Seung Hee (b. 1963). Tao, 2012. Glazed porcelain relief. 22-1/2 x 12-3/4 x 1-1/2 inches (57.2 x 32.4 x 3.8 cm). Inci...

Description

Lee Seung Hee (b. 1963)
Tao, 2012
Glazed porcelain relief
22-1/2 x 12-3/4 x 1-1/2 inches (57.2 x 32.4 x 3.8 cm)
Incised with signature in Korean lower right

Lee's Porcelain Paintings result from a prolonged and technically
demanding process. Starting with a blank clay tablet, he painstakingly
applies up to 70 extremely thin layers of kaolin, a mixture of white
clay and water used in porcelain production. Each layer requires a full
day to apply and dry. In the next stage, he carefully isolates a raised
central shape by scraping and cutting away the background. In this
way he renders, in shallow relief, the outline of the historic ceramic
work that is his subject. After applying a traditional ornamental
pattern in colored pigment, he glazes and fires the work in a kiln. The
entire procedure can take up to 90 days from start to finish.

The Porcelain Paintings imaginatively reinterpret a variety of historic
ceramic masterpieces-vases, bowls, jars, dishes, bottles, drinking
vessels--from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The original ceramic
objects that Lee depicts include examples of the celebrated white
porcelain that made its appearance in the 15th century, and whose
elegant minimal forms were prized by the Korean aristocracy. Lee
also turns to classic examples of the blue-and-white ware of the same
period, noted for the use of cobalt blue pigment to create stylized
patterns of birds, dragons, lotuses, and bamboo. In all of his Porcelain
Paintings, Lee centers the viewer's attention on a deceptively simple
image whose low relief subtly suggests the actual volume of the
original ceramic object. Lee's works do more than pay deserved
homage to the masterpieces of the past. The innovative visual
language that he employs reveals a sophisticated sense of spatial
play and perceptual paradox - qualities that mark these as
unmistakably contemporary works.


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