Lee Kang-hyo, born in Seoul in 1961, is widely regarded as one of the finest Korean potters working today. He has exhibited all over the world and his work is held in many important public and private collections including V&A, British Museum, London, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Art Institute of Chicago and International Ceramic Museum, Italy.
Lee’s work is rooted in the two Korean traditions of Onggi pottery and Bun-cheong decoration and he is renowned for being the first modern Korean potter to bring these two traditions together. In 2014 I travelled to South Korea to document Lee Kang-hyo at work in his studio and to capture some rare footage of Lee building his monumental jars and his famous ‘performance’ decoration to traditional Korean drum music. He is an extraordinary artist and manages to imbue his work with a kind of spiritual energy.
