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.