www.jaewonlee.net
Fulbright to China 2016

Purchase instructions: email info@fulbright.org with artist name & details of art piece

Large porcelain tile series was produced at Tile Factory District in Jingdezhen, China during the Fulbright Research Scholarship in 2016. Images on porcelain tiles imply blossoming plants of an ethereal garden that emerges from my own garden in Michigan and the reminisced one that my mother cultivated in Seoul. Gardens of a variety of flowering plants serve as metaphorical home to return to, with a sense of restored equilibrium and balance. I am particularly interested in floral pattern for its characteristics of self-generation, repetition, and balance. I cut ceramic underglaze decals into small ovals and stripes to compose plants’ stems and blossoms. This arranges like vertical writing on porcelain tiles and suggests another view to a western abstract painting. I am intrigued to use this visual interpretation as a means of conveying the inner landscape of the heart and mind. Asia stays with me emotionally.

Jae Won Lee is Professor of Art at Michigan State University. Lee received an MFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and has exhibited her ceramic sculpture and works on paper/textile in numerous national and international exhibitions. She has participated various artist-in-residence and visiting artist programs. Through these opportunities, she reflects on the dynamism of the active practice of art production, art communities, and the importance of firsthand experiences of differences in a broader global community. Expanded versatility in diverse studio practices reciprocates expanded perspectives in the classrooms. It is with this backdrop that she engages her research and teaching.