Scottish, Born in 1956 in Aberdeenshire
Lives and works in London, England

A distinguished figure in contemporary ceramics, Jennifer Lee has garnered worldwide recognition for her exceptional hand-built pots, which are uniquely coloured by mixing metallic oxides directly into the clay. Born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1956, Lee’s artistic journey began at Edinburgh College of Art, where she studied ceramics and tapestry from 1975 to 1979. Following this, she spent eight months on a travelling scholarship to the USA, where she explored South-West Indian prehistoric ceramics and contemporary West Coast pottery.

Lee further honed her craft at the Royal College of Art in London, where she studied from 1980 to 1983. Her artistic practice has been deeply influenced by her extensive travels to countries such as Egypt, India, Japan, and Australia. Over the years, her work has been included in major public collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 2018, the Victoria & Albert Museum acquired additional works for its collection, further cementing her place among the leading figures in contemporary ceramics.

Among her many career highlights, Lee was invited by Issey Miyake to exhibit at his 21_21 Design Sight Foundation in Tokyo in 2009, where her pots were showcased in a dramatic installation designed by architect Tadao Ando. Lee has also enjoyed several prestigious residencies, including at the Shigaraki Ceramic Culture Park in Japan and the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art.

In 2018, she won the LOEWE Craft Prize, presented by Helen Mirren at The Design Museum in London, in recognition of her outstanding craftsmanship. Lee has held retrospective exhibitions in Sweden and Scotland, and in 2019, Kettle's Yard in Cambridge hosted a major exhibition of her ceramics and drawings.

Awarded an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 2021 for her service to the arts, Jennifer Lee continues to inspire with her masterful ceramics. We are proud to showcase her work and to share her ongoing artistic journey with our visitors.