The West Coast Gallery is honoured to host some of the most breath-taking outdoor and indoor pottery and ceramics created by Sang Sool Shim (1953 - 2020) and Keum Sun Lee. These are truly extraordinary artworks that reflect their collaborative creativity and represent a ceramic legacy which will live on in the hearts of many New Zealanders.

They discovered that very few New Zealand potters were aware of the centuries old history of Korean pottery so it became their passion to exemplify and share the knowledge gained from research into the traditional craft. They were influenced by, and experimented with the historic forms and techniques of 10th Century and 15th Century Korean pottery. Shim created the ceramic forms either by hand or on a wheel and Lee decorated the exterior surfaces using the traditional Korean methods of Sanggam (intaglio) and Bakji (sgraffito) – delicate free-hand surface carving and engraving – which have been meticulously painted and inlaid with glazes of vibrant contemporary colours.

Over the years, Shim and Lee have had many successful exhibitions and won international awards in Korea, Croatia and Austria. Their collaborative works are included in the Austrian Museum and Portage Trust New Zealand Collections. In December 2018 the self-taught artists won the Portage Ceramic Premier Award. This is New Zealand’s most prestigious pottery prize.