Exhibition by domestic, international artists explores new dimensions of ancient ceramic art, Lin Qi reports.
In his most important encyclopedia of technology, Tiangong Kaiwu (The Creations of Nature and Men), Song Yingxing, the agronomist who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries, wrote: "Passing through water and fire, of which powers are combined in a harmonious way, the clay becomes utensil."
In the book, he elaborated on the techniques used to make earthen products like tiles, bricks and pottery through the joint aegis of water and fire.
Song described porcelain as "the utensil of artistry, its crystalline body glittering with minimalist grace", and said that the technical progress from wood to ceramics marked the march of civilization through the replacement of old ways with new ones.
The production of a glazed utensil — the result of the interaction between water, earth and fire — is an expression of silent beauty. Ever since the first fire was lit to turn mud into ceramic, millenniums have passed, and while that same fire and desire to make utensils burns on, the presentation of ceramic art as a way of demonstrating the magic of clay has greatly evolved.
For example, when Bai Ming, a ceramic artist and professor at Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design, was preparing a special piece to be shown at a contemporary ceramic art exhibition, he opted to take an alternative approach — not to show the final product, but rather the materials and tools essential to the process.
In an installation called The Book of Body Refuse, fine clay from Jingdezhen, the ceramic art hub in Jiangxi province, is piled in a rectangular area that contains baskets, chairs, desks and other objects found in ceramics workshops.
The installation does not contain any ceramics, but embodies the same experimental means of presenting ceramic art that Bai uses in his other works, such as porcelain sculptures that sometimes reach as high as the ceiling. This approach reinforces Bai's pursuit of the poetic, calm and delicate manner of Chinese intellectuals living a lifestyle of self-reflection — a spiritual quality derived from the process of working with the clay.
The Book of Body Refuse occupies an entire showroom, alongside a video showing the installation process of the work, at Stilled Melody, an exhibition at the Tsinghua University Art Museum in Beijing.
"When looking at Jingdezhen clay, it is hard to feel either arrogance or pride," Bai says. "Instead, one can only be touched by the fine qualities of the clay."
Stilled Melody brings together Chinese and international artists in a show that runs until Oct 15. It looks back at the long history of ceramics as a product that allowed people to test their understanding of the rules of nature, and also as a favored international commodity connecting different cultures. The show navigates the scope and depth of the creative minds behind the exhibition, who have used ceramics as a vehicle to redefine the relations between people and the world in the changing social context.
Some pieces on display have been made by artists participating in a residency program at an international contemporary ceramic art center in Shangyu district, Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, as part of a collaboration that began in 2015 between Shangyu authorities and Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design. Shangyu is regarded as one of the birthplaces of celadon ceramics.
Self-renewal of tradition
The exhibition is seen as a continuation of To the Ideal Land of Ceramics, another show curated by the Tsinghua University Art Museum in 2018. "Ceramics are one of the important utensils that developed in pace with the progress of civilization. And over that long span of time, its role has evolved from ceremonial and funeral objects to objects of daily use, and nowadays, to a vehicle of artistic expression," says Du Pengfei, executive director of the museum.
"Into what dimensions has Chinese ceramic art pushed forward recently? What are the new paths of creativity that artists around the world have paved? The results of these topics, addressed in 2018, will be revealed this year to spark new discussions," he adds.
Li Lihong, one of the Chinese artists featured in the exhibition, sees his work as a way of demonstrating the self-renewal of tradition in modern times. His wall installations mirror his endeavors in this regard over time.
Cloud Realm No 1 is a cluster of highly polished metal plates, each of which is decorated with porcelain curling cloud motifs painted in blue and white. When passing this piece, viewers will see themselves reflected as they move from one plate to another.
Curling clouds are a recurring motif of classical Chinese art and crafts. By blending this decorative element, as well as the blue-and-white coloring of qinghua porcelain (a type of underglaze colored porcelain), into his work, Li says he hopes to create an immersive atmosphere for the audience that is half real and half illusion.
Openness and diversity
The participation of Japanese artist Eiko Kishi shows the openness of the ceramic world to women, as well as to those who launch their career at a stage normally considered rather late in life — Kishi became an artist when she was 40.
Her style has been influenced by the patterns and textures of time-honored Cizhou ware, production of which boomed in northern China primarily during the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. She also conducts research into the pottery making techniques of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
The primitive beauty and grace of these antique pieces have inspired her to come up with a distinctive working method. Her ceramics are made from a mixture of different types of clay and pigments that creates a subtle radiance, like that of precious stones, and results in a texture like that of knitted fabrics.
Bai, who is also curator of the exhibition, says that when people today explore deeper into the world of ceramics, they will inevitably find different, even strange aspects of ceramics to think about.
"Here, artworks from around the world present diverse perspectives, through ceramics, of similarities and differences, and the origins and trends of development, in the East and the West," he says.
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