Between the Petals
Artist
Jae Won Lee
(Korean American)
Date2012
MediumPorcelain, wire
DimensionsVariable
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of the artist, 2019
Object numberUAC6692
DescriptionPassage, as briskly summarized by Jae Won Lee, is “a visual condensation of earth in winter months in Michigan.” Or, more broadly, also per the artist, Passage and related works depict “earth viewed horizontally in the Midwest to nourish contemplative insights.” The graceful, languid curves of Passage ease the eye into the to-and-fro rhythm of hundreds of thin, tri-lobed, porcelain petals--white and off-white in hue-threaded onto mono filament strands. Perhaps the ensemble of suspended strands calls to mind a lulling cradle or a hammock, or perhaps a lyrical vision of branches or wires weighed down by snow. Contemplating Leeʼs wintry evocation summons dueling responses—lovely but fleeting, mesmerizing but ephemeral, simple but engaging, silent but insightful.Passage is a reduced version of Between the Petals II (2010), a piece that extends sixteen feet in width and is one component of a group of works, titled Accrescere (i.e., to increase, expand). When Accrescere is fully installed, the multiple sculptures, both floor and wall-mounted, summon up the ambience, albeit abstract, of a sublime winter landscape.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Lee studied at California State University (BFA) and Alfred University (MFA). She works in a variety of media—porcelain, hair, fiber, paper—creating unique, individual objects that are minimalist in form, as well as large-scale installations and two-dimensional works on paper. Lee is currently professor of art at Michigan State University.
Text by Dennis Alan Nawrocki
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