Stroll Garden is pleased to present Raina Lee’s first solo exhibition, Homeworld. Lee’s hand-formed ceramic vessels draw from ancient and classical ceramic traditions as well as the Chinese antique reproductions from her childhood home. The show will feature a new collection of larger-scale works in which Lee continues to experiment with layers of sculptural glaze and alternative firings to create earthly and unearthly textural forms.

Lee writes: “I’m driven by the materials and how they don’t always get along. I like to investigate the ways I can mix these earth minerals to create surfaces and colors we find in nature. I’ll see an abalone shell and know how the metallics made those lustrous colors.”

Lee’s process includes formulating and testing dozens of glazes, trying different variations of glaze, and firing multiple times. “I know how each one of my glazes and colors behave, and how I can force them to do what I need — copper, titanium, manganese, and cobalt for color, silicon carbide for the volcanic eruptions. Magnesium makes surfaces that shrink and crack. For me, glaze is an emotion, and I’m motivated by my own visceral response as well as scientific curiosity.”

A number of the works draw upon classical Chinese ceramic shapes, such as the Meiping, the Garlic Head, and the Lotus Bud, and give a nod to classical Chinese ceramic colors, such as a drippy volcanic take on blue and white porcelain, and a sky-blue interpretation of Song dynasty Jun glazes. “I’m interested in engaging with history and my own past through creating and recreating objects.”