Suhn Lee

Suhn Lee is a Los Angeles-based Lecturer and Contemporary Clay Minor Area Head at Otis College of Art and Design, specializing in ceramics and textiles that explore Korean American cultural identity, anxiety, and grief through material repetition. Her work synthesizes traditional Korean symbols with modern anime influences to create contemplative metaphors for death and presence.

Education:

• Bachelor of Art in Communications, University of California, San Diego
• Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude, Southwestern Law School

Lee's research centers on transmuting psychological suffering into reverence for the present moment through physical mantras in clay and textile processes. Her sculptures externalize cultural pressures of image obsession and overachievement, straddling recognition and ambiguity to invite viewer contemplation in an attention-scarce world.

Her exhibition history demonstrates consistent engagement with major Los Angeles institutions, reflecting significant influence in contemporary ceramic discourse despite the absence of traditional academic publications.

Exhibition Highlights:

• 2025: Considering Summer (Patricia Sweetow Gallery)
• 2025: Memento Mori Solo Exhibition (Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery)
• 2024: Clay LA (Craft Contemporary)
• 2023: LACE Art Benefit (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions)

Lee leverages her legal background in Intellectual Property and Fashion Merchandising to inform material practice, with residencies at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts shaping her technical approach. Her studio practice functions as both artistic output and therapeutic process, bridging cultural heritage with contemporary psychological exploration.