A Soft Place to Land

Hannah Traore Gallery is pleased to present A Soft Place to Land, a new collection of lighting, ceramics, and mirrors by the furniture designer and artist Eny Lee Parker. This exhibition transforms the sleek, white-walled space into a plush interior and inhabitable realm. A natural progression from Soft & Sensitive (A Love Letter to Me), curated by VERSO in 2022—a show for which Parker created design objects that expressed her childhood, playfulness, and nostalgia—here, the artist looks to where she is headed, creating pieces that embody her growth, maturity, and adulthood. Above a carpeted floor, the walls are hung with delicate sconces molded into calla lily petals, which warmly light an open space filled with flower vases sculpted into the shape of twin doves, floor lamps crowned with globe-like bulbs, and a ceramic column where lights are placed in convex and concave curves. Each piece feels like a somatic vessel for the artist’s private reflections, an environment where there is room to process past experiences and imagine new possibilities. Parker has a unique ability to preserve the gentle quality of hard materials like fired clay and blown glass. In this collection, she glazes porcelain with tender tones of deep reds, soft pinks, and lunar whites—welcoming the imperfections that come from hand-building. Rather than seeking to inspire a particular emotion with her furniture, she scales each piece so it offers an element of surprise—encouraging us to observe how our own bodies relate to objects in space. Marking the first presentation of interior design at the gallery, this exhibition serves as a portal into Parker’s soul, A Soft Place to Land invites us to gather for collective peace of mind. Eny Lee Parker is a spatial designer based in New York, known for her work in the realms of objects, furniture, and lighting. Her approach centers around the use of clay as her primary medium, channeling the essence of traditional craftsmanship with a focus on slowness, intention, and a deep respect for natural resources. In doing so, she creates contemporary objects that elevate awareness, presence, and celebrate the beauty of non-living things. Lee Parker’s work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, T Magazine, Vogue, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper*, Domino Magazine, Dwell, Financial Times, and more. She was a judge for the esteemed Dezeen Awards in 2023. In addition to her editorial recognition, Lee Parker’s work has been featured in solo exhibitions and group shows including presentations at Design Miami and Milan Design Week. She made her curatorial debut with Sexy, a group exhibition at Objective Gallery. Beyond exhibitions, Lee has collaborated with brands such as Lulu and Georgia and Hudson Valley Lighting to design furniture and lighting collections that marry functionality with her artistic language. Eny Lee Parker continues to redefine the boundaries of contemporary design, emphasizing the intrinsic beauty of objects.