Potter Jennifer Lee on craft, ceramics and her own way of working
7 March 2019
Watch the ceramicist and LOEWE Craft Prize 2018 winner speaking at the Collect art fair
7 March 2019
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For this filmed interview, ceramicist Jennifer Lee was joined on the Collect 2019 stage by the V&A director of collections Antonia Boström and president of the LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize jury Anatxu Zabalbeascoa to talk about her hugely varied and international career, the intricacies of her practice and the impact of winning the 2018 award on her work.
While known for using ancient coiling techniques and primary materials, the ceramicist’s combination of metallic oxides and clay - then left to transform for decades - render her practice unique and timeless. This concept of evolution is central to Jennifer Lee’s work and, as the clay changes, so do her thought processes and the vessels themselves.
Widely praised for manifesting nature - rather than imitating it - Jennifer's unglazed work moved LOEWE creative director Jonathan Anderson to comment: ‘Jennifer Lee for me is a landmark in form.’ Impressing the craft prize jury across the board, she was awarded the generous 50,000 euro prize in 2018.
“I do everything backwards. I start by looking at test tiles, choose the colours I’m going to use, then I take notes but I draw the pots after firing not before”
- Jennifer Lee
Reflecting on LOEWE’s inception as a craft cooperative in 1856, the LOEWE Craft Prize was set up in 2016 to celebrate exceptional modern craft and to champion its importance in today’s world.
Jennifer admitted it took some persuasion from friends and family to enter herself for the award: ‘I never apply for prizes, I don’t do competitions. But my husband Jake and daughter Hannah said come on you’ve got to do it. So I did it and I’m very glad. I’m still amazed that I won.’
