Three Exhibitions

Hun Chung Lee

Jolie Ngo

Serban Ionescu

Hun Chung Lee: California

Hun Chung Lee (b. 1967) is widely recognized for his mastery of 15th century Korean celadon glazing techniques, which he uses to create stunning ceramic works that embrace and blend the formal vocabularies of sculpture and functional design. R & Company presents Lee’s first exhibition in New York City in ten years, reintroducing his distinct and poetic work to East Coast visitors, capturing the evolution of his practice. With works produced entirely in Lee’s recently opened Santa Monica studio, the exhibition features objects made in his “classic style”, as well as those that represent his most recent experimentations with monumental scale and engagement with California-inspired color palettes. While Lee’s practice is highly acclaimed in Asia, the forthcoming exhibition, titled Hun Chung Lee: California, offers an opportunity to increase awareness of his work and inspire equal admiration among audiences in the United States.

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Jolie Ngo: Memory Palace

R & Company is pleased to present artist and designer Jolie Ngo’s first solo show in New York, and her first exhibition with the gallery since formally joining its program last year. At just 26 years old, Ngo is at the forefront of a new generation of designers who are using new technologies to expand the boundaries and challenge the expectations of the centuries-old medium of ceramics, both technically and conceptually – creating new forms that resist definition and suggest the experience of otherworldly landscapes or terrains. The exhibition presents approximately 20 of Ngo’s latest ceramic forms: vibrant and futuristic vessels, all created over the past year, which the artist refers to as “memory palaces,” giving the exhibition its name.

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Serban Ionescu: Castle Garden

R & Company is pleased to present Romanian-American artist and designer Serban Ionescu’s first solo exhibition at the gallery since formally joining its program in October 2021. Ionescu has long been interested in world making, approaching his design works as whimsical characters that he brings to life in Castle Garden. Named after the first immigration station in the United States, “Castle Garden” was originally a military fort and then a theater before becoming the main entry point to the U.S. for European immigrants in the 1850s. Just as Castle Garden’s functions changed over time, the functionality of Ionescu’s objects is variable, transforming based on the viewer’s desires and the location of the works. For this exhibition, the designer draws on his architectural background to create a range of large-scale structures, including “pavilions” that people can enter, allowing for a new interior experience of his work, as well as “roomscrapers”, elongated, tall sculptures that suggest a built skyline. Castle Garden also includes a spectrum of works, including a standout dining room table, cabinets, and chairs, and maquettes for pavilions—all in Ionescu’s signature style.