Past Resident

Heesoo Lee, 2014–2015 Speyer Fellow, 2015–2016 Lilian Fellow
summer resident 2013; long-term resident 2014–2016

Heesoo Lee makes wheel-thrown and handbuilt porcelain vessels covered in delicate and colorful images that draw inspiration from nature and landscapes. These images are created by using layers of underglaze, china paints and metallic lusters. While at the Bray, Heesoo investigated new techniques for developing form. In the past, the majority of her work has been wheel-thrown, but by handbuilding, she hopes to explore how a change in this element of her process will inform her vessels as a whole.

Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Heesoo earned her BA in art from Ewha University. After apprenticing with Julia Kirillova in Berkeley, California, Heesoo began a full-time studio practice. From there, she relocated to Maui, where she established a thriving studio business. Heesoo was a summer resident at the Bray in 2013 and returned as the 2014 Speyer Fellow.

 “You can’t correct it, or walk away from a piece and come back to it later, the way you can with a painting. Yet I like the subtle, elegant effect and the way you have to be humble with the clay. I put my energy, my feelings, into the work, and I think people can feel that.”—Lee

Veil of Winter, 2014
porcelain, underglaze
38cm x 25cm x 25cm

Vase, 2014
porcelain, underglaze

Autumn Veil, 2014
porcelain, underglaze
48cm x 33cm x 18cm