Echoes in Porcelain -

Nicholas Lees and his Lathe Turned Sculptures

With a deep understanding of materials and process, Nicholas Lees creates porcelain sculptures that explore how perception is shaped by light, space, and form. Lees' work investigates the transient nature of seeing, seeking to give form to shadows as thresholds between two and three dimensions, presence and absence. Informed by years of observing the Scottish coastline, Lees' practice reflects how shifting tides, weather, and light make perception an ever changing, ephemeral experience.

Nicholas Lees (b. 1967, GB)

Shoreline (25.10), 2025

Parian porcelain, soluble cobalt and soluble iron

At earlier stages in Lees’ career, he made works that was more straightforwardly studio pottery, followed by sculptures which consciously turned away from overt ceramic reference in form and materiality, while still maintaining a deeply rooted approach to thinking in relation to material and process.

Over time, this approach has guided Lees to explore forms where surface, volume, and the internal void become central concerns, reflecting both technical mastery and conceptual engagement with the possibilities of ceramics.

The 'orbit' forms are clearly closer to the accepted identity of a pot or vessel, and Lees recognises that this proximity only enriches the work. By narrowing the boundary between contained space and occupied space, he has been able to engage more profoundly with the internal void, exploring its sense of volume and presence. The full curve of the form emphasizes the role of surface in its interplay with shape, allowing light to shimmer across the exterior and giving a tactile and visual sense of vitality. Through this process, Lees has discovered the sensual and visual delight inherent in creating a full, curvaceous form, gaining insight into why spherical objects, such as moon jars, have long held such resonance and importance in ceramics.

Lees consciously avoids naming his works 'moon jars', acknowledging the specific institutional context of that term. Instead, he has chosen the name ‘Orbit,’ partly because it functions as both a noun and a verb, suggesting ideas of stasis and movement simultaneously. This tension between stillness and motion is also embedded in the forms themselves. For technical reasons in the making, the orbit forms possess a fixed foot and neck, without fins, which delineates a clearer profile. This in turn frames the softer, more uncertain curves of the body, enhancing the sense of movement and fluidity within a formally controlled structure.

The shifting boundary of the spherical form, combined with Lees’ ongoing engagement with the liminal spaces of the Scottish coastline, evokes the presence of the Orbit form as fluid and transient. Just as tidal waters pulse around the globe, continually reshaping and reflecting light and space, so too does the perception of these forms remain in constant flux.

Through his practice, Lees invites the viewer to consider both the physicality of the vessel and the ephemeral qualities of perception, offering a meditation on the interplay between material, form, and experience.

Close up photo of Orbit (25.33) from above.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

"A common thread through my work is cross sections. I am interested in positive and negative space, the boundaries of the pieces in space and the dialogue between surface and form."

 Nicholas Lees 

 Technical Features 

Lees combines traditional throwing with lathe turning, transforming historical pottery techniques into a refined artform. The works are thickly thrown, then partly dried and lathe-turned to form delicate fins, exploring porcelain’s change from a pliable to a firm state. When the clay is fired but still porous, the clay is infused with metal salt solutions that, through kiln evaporation, draw colour through the form and concentrate it on the outer edges, creating lines impossible to draw by hand.

 The Inspirational Source 

The western coastline of Scotland.

Video courtesy of the artists.

How can clay be half there? This is what Lees repeatedly seeks to answer in his quest to manifest tangible qualities of light and shadow.

"Through explorative making, I realise the work is about perception; shifting relationships of light, space, body and object. I have traced this to my lifelong experience of the same piece of Scottish coastline – a place of great beauty where I have come to understand the nature of time, continuity and transience in knowing this liminal space." Nicholas Lees

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