UK exhibition highlights Chinese contemporary studio crafts

The mountain has long been a motif in Chinese art and something that has loomed over traditional handcrafts.

One of the most obvious examples of it is seen in Chinese blue-and-white ceramics, with mountains and waters applied to the body of the piece, stroke by stroke.

Throughout the long history of China's porcelain exports, the painted landscape has helped create a mysterious image of China in the West.

Li Xiaoxin, curator of Asia Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, says the artistic response to mountains continues to this day, while compared to the ancient relics, well-made and thought-provoking contemporary Chinese crafts also exist but are often overlooked.

The small display "Mountain" at V&A's China room, which runs until May 21, 2025, has partly realized Li's dream of spotlighting these Chinese contemporary crafts.

Twenty-three displays in the exhibition chronicle artistic expression from the East Han Dynasty (25-220) to the present, guiding visitors as they explore how Chinese artists have innovated new techniques to interpret mountains, while referencing the traditions.

Walking alongside the vitrines, one can catch the differences when seeing a jar made by Sun Chao, who experimented with a special glaze called crystalline glaze that can be fired to a shell-like luster. The decoration evokes a misty scene from Guilin, in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in an abstract way, instead of intricately picturing the splendor by using typical blue or green glazes.

Another piece inspired by Guilin is more fancy in which artist Huang Jing made a loop with many spherical components. The white, blue, or green parts, each referencing the sky, rivers, and rocks, eventually form a miniaturized Chinese mountain scene, where it looks as if the clouds come from the mountain and the waters cascade through the interiors.

"Apart from being ingenious, these artworks do not lose their Chinese roots," says Li. "For example, for Huang's Loop #3, the colors interweaving with each other remind us of Jun wares from Song Dynasty (960-1279). In this exhibition, I would like to include pieces that are contemporary but also Chinese."

Yet in Chinese culture, mountains are not a mere natural landscape that reveals the grandeur of the Earth, but also a vehicle of philosophy reflecting the viewers' mental world.

Mountains can be as grand as the writings of one of China's greatest poets, Du Fu (712-770), who wrote of how the crest dwarfs all peaks under one's feet. And they can be the focus of feelings of loneliness, as another acclaimed poet, Li Bai (701-762), described in writings that talked of a single cloud between deep and serene mountains fading away.

Chen Sijia's A Great Disruption echoed the spiritual side of mountains. The hills and rivers in her landscape painting represent difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic faced by the Asian immigrant community in the United States.

"Chen noticed that Asians overseas have experienced unprecedented challenges during the Covid time, just as one can experience an arduous journey by traveling over mountains and rivers. So, she collected immigration forms, instructions in the test kits, restaurant menus, and news clippings, cut them into different shapes, and created the symbolic mountains," says Li.

Li says that she hopes the collections could showcase a new contemporary China to Western audiences.

"China, as a nation which enjoys a rich history in handcrafts, do not only have the antiquities dating back to the Yuan, Ming or Qing dynasties, but also thrive in contemporary culture. The craft industry, from artistic, studio ceramics, glass and lacquer, to utilitarian vessels produced by independent craftsmakers and designers, is developing fast in big cities.

"This phenomenon is partly the result of the economic growth China achieved in the past decades. A consumer society which appreciate decorative and functional household items with good quality and unique design is forming."

Near the end of the exhibition is an incense burner co-made by Ran Xiangfei, Fan Jianjun, and Chiu Fan-chih. The top consists of multiple acrylic panels, cut out to form the outline of a mountain. As incense burns and smoke accumulates, a tea-colored mountain gradually appears.

"Pretty objects like these are very popular. This proves that Chinese consumers are willing to pay for good design and craftsmanship," Li says.

"I am planning a major display in 2025 which will systematically showcase the developments of Chinese contemporary studio crafts. More collections will be on display to depict China today."