In her latest series of "slab glaze paintings" - flat ceramic works that blur the line between painting and pottery through stoneware surfaces and glaze alchemy - Raina Lee captures interior and exterior scenes inspired by her 2023 travels through rural Japan. During this period, she participated in traditional wood-firings in the Yamanashi prefecture near Mount Fuji and visited several Mingei (folk art) museums across various cities. The works reflect a thoughtful consideration of format: the larger pieces (6 ½ x 9 ½ inches) reference the proportions of Japanese woodblock prints, while the smaller ones (4 ½ x 6 ½ inches) evoke the scale and intimacy of souvenir postcards. Continuing her recent foray into painting and figuration, Lee uses these ceramic surfaces to trace personal connections to the histories embedded in the places she visits, as well as the sensory richness of everyday encounters.

Raina Lee (b. 1976) lives and works in Los Angeles, California. She received her BA in Sociology from the University of California, Davis, and her MA in Media and Film Studies from the New School for Social Research, New York. She has exhibited with Stroll Garden, Los Angeles; Niche Gallery, Los Angeles; Laisun Keane, Boston; Nucleus Gallery, Portland; and Studio Ima x Casa Ahorita, Mexico City, among others.