NEWS

March 2024

A Half Glass Full: New Works by Lee Masterson

NADA New York, May 2-5 at 548 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, New York with P.A.D. Gallery. 

A Half Glass Full: New Work by Lee Masterson continues the P.A.D. tradition of bringing a longtime member of its roster and its inclusive vision to the broader community of artists, collectors and enthusiasts. Lee Masterson has been a member of P. A. D. since its inception.

Lee Masterson’s newest body of ceramic work combines exquisite form with a slightly twisted sensibility. He takes forms from history such as the classical amphora, the Baroque frame, the Canopic jar, the Art Nouveau teapot, the Japanese sake set. He turns them around, splits them, warps them, coats them in gold, decontextualizes them and makes them new and surprising.

The combination of impeccable craft and an understanding of the lineage and context of forms gives this work its power. The riotous “end of day” pieces complete the story and reveal the leftovers of the process. They show the love of the material and the things that might otherwise be lost, overlooked, or discarded.

The exhibition is curated by Sam Gassman and Janet Zweig, with the help from Patrick Mohundo of P.A.D.

ABOUT

Leopold (Lee) Masterson is a visual artist who lives and works in New York City. He was born in 1985 in Iowa, Masterson works across disciplines and mediums— in ceramics, painting, public art, curation, and design. Masterson received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Iowa (2007/2008) and his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design (2011). He has participated in several residencies  and has artwork in international institutions and collections such as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris, France), Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Libraries (New York, USA), Poster House (New York, USA), and Grassi Museum of Art (Leipzig, Germany).

CV

Artistic Training

2011 Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) • Providence, RI • Master of Fine Arts

2008 The University of Iowa • Iowa City, IA • Bachelor of Fine Arts • Ceramics

2007 The University of Iowa • Iowa City, IA • Bachelor of Science and Nursing

Public Collections

2022 Cedar Rapids Museum of Art • Cedar Rapids, IA

2021 Musée des Arts Décoratifs • Paris, France

2021 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Libraries • New York, NY

2021 Poster House • New York, NY

2019 Grassi Museum of Art • Leipzig, Germany

2018 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Libraries • New York, NY

2018 Cedar Rapids Museum of Art • Cedar Rapids, IA

2017 Christian Peterson Museum • Iowa State University, Ames, IA

2016 Long House Reserve • Collection of Jack Lenor Larsen • East Hampton, NY

Scholarships • Awards • Residencies

2025 Intonation 2025 • Residency • Deidesheim, Germany

2015 Vermont Studio Center • Residency • Johnson, VT

2012 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) • Fellowship and Residency • Amherst, VA

2012 BRIC Media Arts • Fellowship • Brooklyn, NY

2012 Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide (SPARC) • Brooklyn Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts Grant • Brooklyn, NY

2011 Ox-Bow • Residency and instructor • Saugatuck, MI

2011 RISD Graduate Studies Grant • Affected Productions • Providence, RI

2010 Graduate Fellowship & Teaching Assistantship • RISD Ceramics • Providence, RI

2010 Funded Proposal • Sitings 2010: Museum as Action • RISD Museum of Art • Providence, RI

Selected Exhibitions

2025 Barely Fair • Chicago, IL • SPOTLIGHT

2024 NADA X Project Art Distribution • New York, NY • A Half Glass Full (Solo Exhibition)

2023 Werk Gallery • St. Petersburg, Fl • Queerness

2022 a space gallery • New York, NY • Under The Big Tops (in Collaboration with John Manion curated by Sam Gassman)

2022 Grassi Museum of Art• Leipzig, Germany • Schmuck + Image

2021 Walter Elwood Museum • Amsterdam, NY • P.A.D. Retrospective

2021 a space gallery • New York, NY • Diamonds, Razors and Champagne

2020 Grassi Museum of Art • Leipzig, Germany • Grassimesse

2020 The Parlour • Frenchtown, NJ • Portraits

2019 Sweet Pass Sculpture Park • Dallas, TX • Away Message

2019 PAD Gallery • New York, NY • On The Lamb

2018 EFA Project Space • New York, NY • Nurtureart Benefit

2018 a space gallery • New York, NY • Fucking Terrible Art Exhibition

2017 BRIC Arts • Brooklyn, NY • Truth

2014 The Emerson • Brooklyn, NY • Masks (Collaboration with Marty Allen)

2014 Katrina Van Tassel Gallery • New York, NY • Digital Skin

2013 Violetscafe • Brooklyn, NY • Fishing in the Dark

2013 a space gallery • Brooklyn, NY • 13|23 Exhibition

2013 Greenville Museum of Art • Greenville, NC • Tongue in Cheek

2012 Ateliers D’Art De France • Paris, FR • The International Film Festival on Clay and Glass: Cup (2010)

2011 Samson Projects • Boston, MA • Chain Letter

2011 RISD Museum of Art • Providence, RIVideo Art Screening: The Cave of Time (2011) • Juried by Judith Tannebaum

2011 Rhode Island Convention Center • Providence, RI • RISD MFA Thesis Exhibition 2011

2011 Gelman Gallery • Providence, RI • Digital Plastic

2010 RISD Museum of Art • Providence, RI • Sitings 2010: Museum as Action, Column

Publications

2022 Milosch, Jane (Masterson, Leopold; Smith, Paul J.; Lenor Larsen, Jack) • Arnoldshe Publishers • Chunghi Choo and Her Students | Contemporary Art and New Forms in Metal

2022 Epple, Sabine and Thormann, GRASSI Museum • Arnoldshe Publishers • Schmuck + Image

2020 Henderson, Aneeka Ayanna • UNC Press • Veil & Vow, Marriage Matters in Contemporary African American Culture

2017 Sharp, Sarah • Tool Book (Volume 1)

2015 Allen, Marty • Cisco Books • Emojis: The Secret Behind the Smile

2012 BRIC Contemporary Art • July 12, 2012 • The Following of Two Fellows

2011 West, Anne • Moth Press • Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work