Steve Lees
Steve Lees — Bleach Faceted Vase II, 2025
This series explores deterioration as both process and surface language. Wood and leaf ash are used not to darken but to lighten, bleaching the black iron glaze beneath. These rounded forms carry this transformation on their surface, where ash settles to reveal subtle shifts in tone and texture.
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Steve Lees (b.1988) is an emerging ceramic artist based in Trentham, Australia. He began his creative career in graphic design, earning a Bachelor of Design (Hons) from Swinburne University, before discovering a deep connection to ceramics. Since then, he has honed his practice under the mentorship of Shane Kent and Kate Wischusen at the School of Clay and Art (SOCA).
Drawn to nature’s constant state of change, Steve’s work explores how elements exist, interact, transform, and deteriorate over time. He reinterprets these natural processes through form, surface, and decoration, specialising in functional works created using wheel-thrown and hand-built techniques.
Material: Stoneware, glaze, oxides, wood ash
Dimensions: approx. 27 x 15.5 x 15.5cm