Catherine Lee’s works are like a hybrid of painting, sculpture and installation. The works on display in this exhibition range from small single wall pieces to large standing ‘Clad’ forms – rested imposingly against the wall and standing 2.5 meters high. Made of patinated bronze, copper or a traditional Japanese clay called Raku – their material is as significant to Lee as their form.
This exhibition includes 5 large ‘Clad’ works in which steel, copper or Raku tiles are screwed over a wooden armature. Lee patinates the metal with an extremely painterly effect making the work seem at once like painting and like sculpture. The work seems solid yet light and the outline of each shape becomes as important as the substance within. The cracked glaze of the fired Raku emphasises the sense of random order and the relationship between the predictable and unpredictable, between artistic control and the lack of it.
Although her works seem systemised – in the instance of Outcasts Water Iron 21 identical cast iron shapes parade over 9 metres of wall space – their form often disrupts our expectations of geometry and symmetry.
Also on display are a selection from Lee’s Alphabet series on which she has been working for 22 years. They are individual shield-like sculptures in which the titles – but not the forms - are related to places that the artist has visited. This series, also made from patinated bronze or Raku ceramic use subtle colours and textures.
Cathy Lee was born in Texas in 1950 where she lives and works. This is her third one-person exhibition at Annely Juda Fine Art. Over 29 works are on display - indicating her use of different media and scale to an impressively harmonious effect.
