2008
Artist Statment
Clay is the medium I mainly use since it is a very creative and humble material.
My work is related to the concepts of human body and mind, presence and absence. I think about the surface of clay like our physical bodies, a material that we can touch and feel and sense and is a representation of presence, the presence of our consciousness.
On the other hand, the absence of our consciousness, or subconscious, which is difficult to sense, often exists only in our dreams within the shades of our minds.
An artist is a discoverer of beauty and meaning, a light revealing the object as well as its shade, a person who discovers the sense of presence and expresses the subconscious of beauty through creation.
Nevertheless, I am strongly rooted in the philosophy that ‘form follows function’, and the individual components of my work maintain their ability to perform as functional vessels.
As a TA in Harvard ceramics program 2009
Bio.
Jean Lee (Ji In Lee) also known as Yi Jin(Yi household family name) received a BFA in Ceramic Art(Sculptural ceramics) from Kyung Hee University. Her work has won Special honors at the Goyang Craft/Design Grand Contemporary Art festival and Kyung Hyang Art Grand Competition and studied in Ho Bong Jang Song Mo Ceramic Research Center. She was awarded the Harvard University Mima Weissmann Ceramics Scholarship. In May 2010, The Korean Armed Forces Network was interested in how graffiti ceramics reflected post-modern Korean culture, and featured that in one of their broadcasts. Her work and her life story have been featured in more than 50 Korean newspaper articles, interviews, Elle Ella Seoul, Shindong A, Hello TV CJ, Lotte Privilege, Tea World, Public Art magazines, KBS, SBS radio talk shows, documentary movies and articles in Korea and had group and individual exhibitions of her work in numerous places.
She has written articles and columns about American artists and culture for MBC Economy magazine, News Cheonji Newspaper, and Sportian News starting in 2010 as an overseas journalist and columnist. She received an MFA in 3D Fine Art from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2013. She had a studio in Somerville named Peace of Mind Pottery and built her own studio and ceramic kiln in South Shore, Massachusetts. In the US, she was one of the first Korean-American Contemporary Artist in a Juried Exhibition at the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society. She worked as workshop instructor and invited guest artist at the Boston Children’s museum and School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston to share her sculptural work and ceramic knowledge in the community. She has been featured in Boston Korea Newspaper, New England Korean Newspaper, and Big Red & Shiny articles and so on.
She works with glazes and motifs from Korean heritage fused with contemporary elements. She lived and worked in Boston from 2009-2023. She moved to Florida and continue her work there.
Articles:
https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.amp.asp?newsIdx=24072
https://www.elle.co.kr/article/1526
http://www.todaykorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=35707
https://m.inews24.com/v/476341
https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1000415424
https://www.donga.com/news/People/article/all/20080512/8577001/1
https://m.mt.co.kr/renew/view_amp.html?no=2010030112180289426
And more…
