Sho-Woo Lee

Sho-Woo Lee ( Xiaoyu Li, 李笑禹) is an artist metalsmith currently based in London. He was born in Beijing, China, and relocated to Taiwan in 2016 for study. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Applied Arts) from Fu Jen Catholic University in 2021. The experience of living in two relatively different Chinese-speaking societies has shaped his more inclusive cultural perspective. He is now studying at The Royal College of Art (Jewellery & Metal) for his Master's degree.

Sho-Woo Lee is dedicated to re-examining ancient Chinese culture and art from a contemporary, global perspective. Specialising in blending diverse East Asian cultural traditions, and classical and contemporary aesthetic concepts, he creates ceremonial vessels and objects in metal.

Zen Utopia

There is an ambiguity and similarity in the materiality of clay, glaze, metal and enamel. I use metal and enamel to dialogue with East Asian ceramic traditions in terms of craft and materiality, trying to locate the connection between the historical and the contemporary.

I was moved by the ceremonial approach of the Japanese tea ceremony, which is more accurately described as ‘Teaism', and accepted the aesthetic perspective that emerged from it. I see Wabi-sabi (侘寂) and Yūgen (幽玄, subtle profundity) as important aesthetic criteria.

History and tradition in the field of applied arts and cultural exchange between geographical areas are important to my research. My current artistic practice is based on my research into the concept of the Sinosphere (the East Asian cultural sphere), focusing on the common cultures that East Asia has historically shared and how these common cultures have been transmitted and interpreted across the different regions of East Asia.

A fusion of Chinese, Korean and Japanese traditions, inspired by the Japanese tea ceremony and reinterpreted with a contemporary perspective to create a ceremonial atmosphere.

Medium:

Copper, Silver, Enamel, silk

Size:

variable

Moon (Water Container)

Inspired by the Korean moon jar, an interpretation of its iconic technical feature of joining two hemispheres; the upper hemisphere is enamel & copper and the lower hemisphere is silver. The green tones come from the chemical reaction between the copper oxide and the white enamel.

Medium:

Enamel, Britannia silver, Copper

Size:

16.5cm x 15cm x 15cm

abstract enamel moon silver silversmith

Snowy (Tea Caddy) – This Tea Caddy responds to the stoneware containers used to hold tea powder in the Japanese tea ceremony tradition. The colour and pattern of the enamel responds to the Buncheong, or White Slip (ceramics) tradition.

In the Japanese tea ceremony tradition, ivory, which is moth-eaten, is intentionally used to make the lid, and I have responded to this tradition by using a silver lid that retains the defects incurred during the production process and is decorated with a black line.

Medium:

Enamel, Fine silver, Copper

Size:

8.5cm x 8.5cm x 8.5cm

black-glazed tea bowl – An imitation of the Jian Black-glazed Tea Bowl ("Tenmoku Tea Bowl" in Japanese), made through multiple firings of various enamels, with a copper base.

Tea Bowl No.2 – Pushing the limits of over fired enamel, the enamels are flowed and mixed in the kiln to create natural colours and patterns.

Tea Bowl No.3 – The shape is inspired by the Raku Tea Bowl. Constructed from copper sheet and soldered.

Medium:

Enamel, Copper

Size:

variable

enamel experimental silversmith traditional

The Enamel Disaster – An attempt was made to violate the technical prohibitions of enamelling by leaving it in the kiln for 20 minutes and pouring cold water over it as soon as it came out of the kiln. The enamel gradually builds up on the bottom of the bowl and the copper is deformed by the high temperature.

The Enamel Disaster – Copper oxide reacts chemically with enamel to form a glassy layer on the surface, similar to the metallic glaze commonly found on ceramics.

Medium:

Copper, Enamel

enamel experimental

Sho-Woo Lee

Zen Utopia

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Royal College of Art