Minsoo Lee’s Cylinders. Sad Crafts – Looking at New Things

Questions on modern ceramic art huestions on modern ceramic art have been increasingly raised in Asia and Europe over the past 20 to 30 years, both of which have a longer history of craft-making compared to the United States. It began with confrontation between the new sculptural way of thinking by the makers of crafts who have studied ceramic art in the United States, and the way of thinking by native artists in Asia who try to inherit and develop their own country’s traditional craft culture. Although both groups are considered to have complementary relationships with each other, the limitations of communication has been revealing in regard to their art-making practice. Questions, such as ‘how can modern craft-making be defined, and ‘is ceramic art reflecting a progressive evolution between design and fine art,’ have enabled timely discourses in the field of practice. Korean potter Minsoo Lee’s work helps to provide meaningful answers to these questions.