Catherine Lee
10 Dec 2005 - 18 Mar 2006
CATHERINE LEE
Exhibition from the 10th of December 2005 to the 18th of March 2006
Opening on the 10th of December 2005 from 6.00 pm – 8.30 pm
The artist will attend the opening
Past and present, rigor and creativity are inimitably combined in the artistic work of Catherine Lee (* 1950 in Texas). Her works which can be situated on the border between abstraction and representation equally appeal to our senses and to our imagination.
Catherine Lee's objects cannot easily be described with traditional terms. Initially her work consisted of the classical genres drawing and sculpture but in exploring different techniques and combining the genres she developed an extraordinary artistic language which stands out due to its severe and monumental aura. Besides her free- standing sculptures her wall objects are a very typical example for this fusion of genre. Here, the categories of relief, sculpture, and painting merge into an harmonious synthesis.
Catherine Lee often chooses forms which trigger off manifold associations. By times they resemble pottery and archaic tools; or they remind us of erratics from ancient times impressing us with their enormous physical presence. Catherine Lee likes to experiment with heavy weight. For instance, she often creates objects which ow un to a point at the bottom so that the impression of ease and the weight of the material balance each other out.
This balance between different elements is a crucial point in Catherine Lee's work and basically contributes to the distinctiveness of her art. She intentionally interlocks forms and thereby creates extremely moving but notwithstanding well- adjusted compositions, like her multipart ceramics which consist of thoughtfully composed elements.
Catherine Lee prefers materials which can be transformed from a liquid into a solid state. "Mutability is what interests me. I have difficulties with wood because it begins as one thing and remains as one thing." (Catherine Lee). For this reason she mainly works with metals and ceramics and additionally tries to emphasize their inherent qualities as far as possible, i.e. she manually produces patina which covers the sculptures with plenty of colour nuances and lends them a meditative aura.
After the exhibition in the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, the Karsten Greve gallery in Cologne presents works from the past two decades of Catherine Lee's artistic work. A considerable selection of sculptures, wall objects, and works on paper will be on view. The exhibition, which Catherine Lee herself has planned in regard to the showrooms, reveals how consequently she pursues the basic ideas of abstraction in different media and at the same time develops a very exceptional language of forms.
Catherine Lee lives and works in New York and Texas. Her works are represented in many well- known collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Tate gallery in London.
© Catherine Lee
Little Cubic, 2004
Ceramic (raku) and nails
h: 30.5 x w: 20.3 x d: 15.2 cm
h: 12 x w: 8 x d: 6 in
Exhibition from the 10th of December 2005 to the 18th of March 2006
Opening on the 10th of December 2005 from 6.00 pm – 8.30 pm
The artist will attend the opening
Past and present, rigor and creativity are inimitably combined in the artistic work of Catherine Lee (* 1950 in Texas). Her works which can be situated on the border between abstraction and representation equally appeal to our senses and to our imagination.
Catherine Lee's objects cannot easily be described with traditional terms. Initially her work consisted of the classical genres drawing and sculpture but in exploring different techniques and combining the genres she developed an extraordinary artistic language which stands out due to its severe and monumental aura. Besides her free- standing sculptures her wall objects are a very typical example for this fusion of genre. Here, the categories of relief, sculpture, and painting merge into an harmonious synthesis.
Catherine Lee often chooses forms which trigger off manifold associations. By times they resemble pottery and archaic tools; or they remind us of erratics from ancient times impressing us with their enormous physical presence. Catherine Lee likes to experiment with heavy weight. For instance, she often creates objects which ow un to a point at the bottom so that the impression of ease and the weight of the material balance each other out.
This balance between different elements is a crucial point in Catherine Lee's work and basically contributes to the distinctiveness of her art. She intentionally interlocks forms and thereby creates extremely moving but notwithstanding well- adjusted compositions, like her multipart ceramics which consist of thoughtfully composed elements.
Catherine Lee prefers materials which can be transformed from a liquid into a solid state. "Mutability is what interests me. I have difficulties with wood because it begins as one thing and remains as one thing." (Catherine Lee). For this reason she mainly works with metals and ceramics and additionally tries to emphasize their inherent qualities as far as possible, i.e. she manually produces patina which covers the sculptures with plenty of colour nuances and lends them a meditative aura.
After the exhibition in the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, the Karsten Greve gallery in Cologne presents works from the past two decades of Catherine Lee's artistic work. A considerable selection of sculptures, wall objects, and works on paper will be on view. The exhibition, which Catherine Lee herself has planned in regard to the showrooms, reveals how consequently she pursues the basic ideas of abstraction in different media and at the same time develops a very exceptional language of forms.
Catherine Lee lives and works in New York and Texas. Her works are represented in many well- known collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Tate gallery in London.
© Catherine Lee
Little Cubic, 2004
Ceramic (raku) and nails
h: 30.5 x w: 20.3 x d: 15.2 cm
h: 12 x w: 8 x d: 6 in