Cliff Lee
Cliff Lee recreates classical Chinese forms using thrown and carved porcelain. He finishes these with glazes ranging from lava to imperial yellow.
Lee was raised in Taiwan where he was surrounded by his ...
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About
- Biography
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Cliff Lee recreates classical Chinese forms using thrown and carved porcelain. He finishes these with glazes ranging from lava to imperial yellow.
Lee was raised in Taiwan where he was surrounded by his parent?s extensive collection of Asian ceramics. He moved to the United States in 1968 where he attended medical school specializing in neurosurgery. He left medicine in 1978 to pursue a career in ceramics.
Lee?s work reflects the influence of this early exposure to classic Asian ceramics. He typically carves motifs from mythology and from nature. Lee is known for his glazes including celadon, oxblood, lava, and oil spot. Lee's imperial yellow glaze was formulated and perfected over 17 years. It is considered to be true to the ancient Chinese formula for imperial yellow.
" - Apprenticeships & Residencies
- Primary Work Experience
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Other
- Public Collections
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Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
Racine Art Museum, WI
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.
White House Collection of Contemporary Crafts, Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, Arkansas
- Bibliography
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Bell, Nicholas, Ulysses Grant Deitz and Andrew Wagner. History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011. Washington, D.C. and London, England: Smithsonian American Art Museum in association with Scala Publishers, 2011.
- CV or Resume
- Website(s)
Citation: Cliff Lee, "The Marks Project."
Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/cliff-lee
