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International spotlight shines on Chinese contemporary ceramics
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THE British Museum is often considered a venue that displays the world’s best art.
This explains why Chen Haibo was so excited to curate a Chinese contemporary ceramics exhibition that opened last month at the museum in London. The exhibition features nearly 30 ceramic artworks.
“I was so proud that the opening day attracted about 200 guests including British historians, experts in Oriental art and the media including Thomson Reuters, Art Zip Magazine and the Guardian,” says Chen, head of Shanghai Art Salon, the Shanghai branch of the Art Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Culture, and also the exhibition’s curator. “This is also the first time Chinese contemporary ceramics have been showcased at the British Museum.”
He says the pieces on display were selected from 500 to “best showcase the current quality of Chinese contemporary ceramics.”
The exhibition includes some big names like Zhou Guozhen, who is famous for his ceramic zodiac animals. Born in a small village in Hunan Province, Zhou has grown up with ducks, chickens and dogs as friends. At the age of 23, he went to Jingdezhen, the cradle of China’s chinaware, to learn ceramics.
“I purposely choose a ceramic camel sculpture created by Zhou for this exhibition,” Chen says. “The title of the work is `Shouldering Heavy Responsibilities,’ which I thought suited the current situation that contemporary ceramic art faces in China.”
Chen admits breaking stereotypical concepts is not easy.
“Almost every 10 years, the British Museum holds a big exhibition on Chinese culture and art, such as the terracotta warriors in 2007,” Chen says. “This exhibition coincides with another big exhibition that features the culture and art of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). We wanted to show that we don’t merely have something gorgeous from the past, but also something that might be unforgettable in the present. But I understand that we are still far from that.”
During the exhibition, some guests expressed an interest in purchasing pieces, but Chen says he declined the offers.
“This is purely a cultural exchange event,” he says. “I believe in the potential of Chinese contemporary ceramics doing well on the international art market. China’s china used to be our cultural name card, especially the ancient ceramics that established recognition of our culture. However, such deeply rooted impressions hinder the Western world’s understanding of contemporary ceramics in China.”
Chen hopes the exhibition is a start in promoting contemporary ceramics in the West that creates a new image of Chinese art.
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