Meet the Team: Sculptor Re Jin Lee
Sculptor Re Jin Lee has carved out a calming, creative haven in the rural town of Pound Ridge, just outside the buzz of New York City. From her studio canopied by trees, she watches the seasons unfold outside, dramatically shifting from one to the next, yet inside, her craft remains timeless.
“My days are quite intuitive,” says Re Jin. Preferring to get any administrative or practical tasks out of the way first, this allows the space in her mind to sink into a day of making. Her studio space is open and spacious, with a large table at its centre, but minimal furniture and objects, allowing light to flood in and cast shadows around the room – akin to her work.
“I’ve always been more interested in form, texture, shadow, and material presence than in color as a focal point,” says Re Jin. Her choice of working mostly with clay naturally encourages a certain restraint, honoring the materials’ natural state while using glazes sparingly to create subtle textural contrasts.
Re Jin grew up in a South Korean household and spent her childhood and early adult years living in São Paulo. After graduating from Faculdade Santa Marcelina with a BA in Fashion Design, she moved to the US. Following stints in Los Angeles and New York City, she eventually felt herself pulled towards a more rural environment.
“Living in the city gave me an appreciation for contrast and the coexistence of many different influences,” she says. “Now, living more rurally has made me pay closer attention to seasonality and the subtle changes that occur over time. I think my palette also reflects the kinds of environments and objects I return to repeatedly – weathered architecture, natural materials, textiles and stone.”
Although her practice has shifted from the body to the gallery or interior, Re Jin’s training in fashion design remains embedded in her approach to making. “Fashion taught me about shape, form, color, functionality, and how objects exist in relationship to people.” The space her work occupies may have changed, but her sensitivity to material and to the interaction between object and observer remains.
Her most recent body of work, exhibited at Arden + White Gallery, explored stacked sculptural forms, where abstract shapes of recycled clay tower high in thin vertical columns, almost appearing to balance precariously like a game of Jenga. The works invite the viewer to slow down and appreciate Re Jin’s quietly complex engineering.
Occupying the space between the functional, the decorative and the artistic, Re Jin says, “I’ve moved increasingly toward sculptural work, but I don’t see functionality and sculpture as opposites. Some of my larger vessels and tables sit somewhere in between.”
Growing up in São Paulo, the city’s modernist architecture and Portuguese influences remain an enduring inspiration. Whilst the rural environment, that she is now so immersed within leaves its trace in her work too, Re Jin’s Plant series, made from white stoneware, reflects simple, abstracted plant-like forms with soft curves, creating a subtle tension between the hardness of the material and the gentle bends of each piece.
Coming from an artistic family – her mother is a painter and many of her extended relatives are also artists – it has always felt natural for Re to view the world through a curious, creative lens.
More recently, however, she has become increasingly interested in exploring her Korean heritage. “I am drawn to qualities that I associate with Korean aesthetics: restraint, balance, humility,” she says. “Korean design also appreciates asymmetry and subtle variation.”
piece by Kwon Young Bae
Together with Thread Caravan founder Caitlin, Re Jin has curated the first Thread Caravan tour to South Korea. The journey takes participants from hard materials to soft: from the studio of master ceramicist Kwon Young Bae to the indigo dye vats at Kindigo Studio, blacksmithing workshops, and bojagi quilting.
Re Jin attended her first Thread Caravan tour in Oaxaca in 2021. “It marked an important point in my life. It ignited a deeper curiosity and admiration for artisans and generational craft traditions, while also supporting my own journey of reconnecting with my roots.” After several more Thread Caravan trips, a growing interest in her Korean culture and a blossoming friendship with Caitlin, curating a tour together felt like a natural next step.
For years, craft enthusiasts have travelled to destinations such as India and Japan, but Re Jin believes South Korea deserves equal recognition. “Korea has an equally rich craft heritage that remains surprisingly underrepresented internationally. Korean craft is often characterized by subtlety rather than spectacle. There is a deep respect for materials, process, and everyday beauty.”
“As someone navigating multiple cultural identities, curating this experience feels especially meaningful. It’s an opportunity to celebrate Korean creativity in a way that is intimate and nuanced.”
