Vase with Landscape and Dinosaurs

Steven Young Lee, Vase with Landscape and Dinosaurs, 2014, porcelain with pigment and glaze, 20 12 × 13 12 × 12 34 in. (52.1 × 34.3 × 32.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Richard Fryklund, Giselle and Ben Huberman, David and Clemmer Montague, and museum purchase through the Howard Kottler Endowment for Ceramic Art , 2015.17, © 2014, Steven Young Lee

Artwork Details

Title
Vase with Landscape and Dinosaurs
Date
2014
Dimensions
20 12 × 13 12 × 12 34 in. (52.1 × 34.3 × 32.4 cm)
Copyright
© 2014, Steven Young Lee
Credit Line
Gift of Richard Fryklund, Giselle and Ben Huberman, David and Clemmer Montague, and museum purchase through the Howard Kottler Endowment for Ceramic Art 
Mediums
Mediums Description
porcelain with pigment and glaze
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Landscape
  • Animal — other — dinosaur
Object Number
2015.17

Artwork Description

Steven Young Lee perfectly formed and then deconstructed this vase. A closer look reveals roaming dinosaurs, which transform a traditional Chinese landscape painting on porcelain.


Lee expresses the artist’s role in questioning boundaries: “As artists, our role is to observe, question, and articulate the moment. An important aspect of this work is the sincerity of the investigation and the willingness to engage in difficult conversations. . . . while boundaries do exist, the mere fact of their existence invites—if not demands—that they be confronted, challenged, and reshaped.”

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (4 items)

Paul Henry Ramirez, SPIN (pink), 2009, screenprint on linen canvas with rotating wall-mount armature, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2011.11.2A-B, © 2009, Paul Henry Ramirez
SPIN (pink)
Date2009
screenprint on linen canvas with rotating wall-mount armature
Not on view
Paul Henry Ramirez, SPIN (orange), 2009, screenprint on linen canvas with rotating wall-mount armature, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2011.11.3A-B, © 2009, Paul Henry Ramirez
SPIN (orange)
Date2009
screenprint on linen canvas with rotating wall-mount armature
Not on view
Paul Henry Ramirez, SPIN (red), 2009, screenprint on linen canvas with rotating wall-mount armature, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2011.11.1A-B, © 2009, Paul Henry Ramirez
SPIN (red)
Date2009
screenprint on linen canvas with rotating wall-mount armature
Not on view

Related Books

Book cover for Renwick Invitational 2016
Renwick Invitational 2016: Visions and Revisions
Visions and Revisions celebrates the work of four contemporary craft artists—Steven Young Lee, Kristen Morgin, Jennifer Trask, and Norwood Viviano. Artworks from each artist defy expectations as they meditate on decline and decay, resilience and rebirth. Lee’s porcelain vessels, derived from Asian ceramic traditions, slump and bend, fracture and fold in the kiln. Morgin’s unfired clay assemblages explore personal nostalgia and the American Dream. Trask weaves bone, resin, metal, feathers, and insect wings in haunting jewelry. Viviano uses cast glass and maps to investigate population shifts and the fragility of communities everywhere.

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
November 13, 2015March 6, 2022
Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.

More Artworks from the Collection

James F. Dicke II, Untitled #48, 2009, mixed media on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marsha Ralls, 2010.19.1, © 2009, James F. Dicke II
Untitled #48
Date2009
mixed media on canvas
On view
Residual Series: Weak Heart, Strong Lungs
Date2018
ink, charcoal, acrylic, spray paint, enamel, oil, metal dust and pine needles on canvas
Not on view
Rae Ferren, The Lily Pool, 2004, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Bran Ferren, 2010.59, © 2004, Rae Ferren
The Lily Pool
Date2004
oil on canvas
On view
Alexis Rockman, Gymnorhamphichthys bogardusae, 2001, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William and Maria Spears, 2019.58
Gymnorhamphichthys bogardusae
Date2001
oil on wood
Not on view