Tao Garden Selects - A Collection of Ceramic Art from the Yixing Ceramic Museum of China

Author: Zhou Xiaodong, Wang Tao, Editors
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: This book collects 96 representative purple clay wares from various historical periods and categories in the collection of the Yixing Ceramic Museum (each piece accompanied by name, author, era, and introduction to main characteristics), as well as 464 representative works of 162 renowned contemporary purple clay artists (each accompanied by author photos, short biographies, seals, and introductions to work characteristics). The book also includes articles introducing Yixing ceramics. The title of the book was inscribed by Pan Zhenzhou, Director of the National Museum of China. As a unique cultural phenomenon, Yixing ceramic culture has a profound historical origin and rich connotations. The Yixing Ceramic Museum has long been an important creative internship base for ceramic artists both at home and abroad. Its complete facilities and strong academic atmosphere provide a broad platform for ceramic talents to improve their skills and showcase their artistic achievements. Shanghai Ci Shu Press has recently launched the large-scale illustrated reference book Gathering Gems from the Ceramic Garden—A Collection of Ceramic Art from the Yixing Ceramic Museum, compiled by the Yixing Ceramic Museum, allowing readers to gain a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the long-standing Yixing ceramic culture and the brilliant ceramic art of contemporary artists. Gathering Gems from the Ceramic Garden, whose title was inscribed by Pan Zhenzhou, Director of the National Museum of China, showcases the finest pieces of both museum-held and contemporary ceramic art. The index at the back of the book facilitates easy retrieval of the lives and works of the master artists and workers included in the book. The selected works from the museum collection of the Yixing Ceramic Museum, representing various historical periods and categories of Yixing ceramics, are all extremely valuable. The five renowned types of Yixing ceramics—purple clay, celadon, unglazed stoneware, stoneware, and polychrome pottery—are celebrated both at home and abroad. Yixing purple clay is considered a marvel of ceramics. The representative work of the famous female artist Yang Fengnian, the "Wind-Curled Peony Teapot," is the only piece collected by museums both domestically and internationally. Three works by the master Gu Jingzhou, including the "Teapot with Raised Rim," are also unique to museums in China. Although celadon may not shine as brightly as purple clay, it possesses equally distinctive characteristics. The "Kiln-Transformed Goat Vessel" by the senior craftsman Wu Keqiang, with its traditional elegant shape and vibrant kiln-transformed glaze, has become an invaluable heirloom. The "Under-Glaze Potted Patterns" of unglazed stoneware are a unique decorative technique of the "Ceramic Capital." Yang Yaosheng's "Potted Patterns Great Jar" is the most complete and representative work of the existing Yixing potted pattern technique. Stoneware, as a new variety of Yixing ceramics, combines the advantages of both pottery and porcelain, featuring vibrant colors and durability. Master Xu Anbi's calligraphy plaque, with its bold and skillful pottery carving, showcases the typical style of contemporary stoneware art. Polychrome pottery is a type of pottery decoration created on the basis of traditional glazed pottery. The "Lying Leopard" by the ceramic sculptor Zhou Guozhen, with its lifelike art glaze and abstract design, has become a masterpiece in decorative art ceramics. The contemporary ceramic art section includes 464 representative works of 162 outstanding mid-to-high-level professionals, young and middle-aged ceramic artists, and influential folk purple clay artists. Each selected artist is briefly introduced with their artistic career and unique creative style. They skillfully utilize the characteristics of various ceramics to express the charm and connotations of their works, continuously innovating while inheriting traditional techniques, resulting in works with novel concepts and distinctive styles.