Ceramics Transformed into Splashes – Taiwan Ceramics Biennial Exhibition Now on Display

By MOOK Travel Life Network, Chen Guanxin, compiled and reported

 

The most anticipated and spectacular art event in the global ceramics community, this is the only large-scale international professional ceramics exhibition in Taiwan—Ceramics Visions: 2012 Taiwan International Ceramics Biennial Exhibition, now on display at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts until January 27, 2013. With the theme "Ceramics Visions," the exhibition centers on the core concepts of "象" (form/image) and "观象" (observing the form/image), using the multiple interpretations derived from the character "象" to guide viewers into the diverse "dimensions" of ceramic creation.

The exhibition content is categorized based on the form and meaning expressed in the artworks, including "Object Forms" that pursue the beauty of object appearance, "Documentary Forms" that narrate and record contemporary social environments, "Imagery Forms" that explore inner emotions and ideas, and "Metamorphic Forms" that examine the changes and instability of time and space. For example, Taiwanese ceramic artist Lee Tsung-Ju successfully challenges conventional notions of "material" and "object" in his "Straw Clay Branches" series, using real straw mixed with porcelain clay and shaping it entirely by hand to create a visual form where clay "appropriates and replicates reality," guiding viewers to appreciate the diverse "object forms" of ceramics; British ceramic artist Andrew Livingstone repurposes mass-produced, cheap ceramic dogs from industrial manufacturing, dressing them with human-like attire, in contrast to the large-scale, fine-art-grade ceramic pieces, aiming to challenge artists' excessive obsession with handcrafting and satirizing the cheap, artificial nature of today’s popular culture through the "documentary forms."

Additionally, the gold award-winning piece "Nostalgia 'Taiwan─01" by Osamu Kojima possesses a strong sculptural quality; the use of glass material seems to freeze a rock-like structure in space and time, creating an uneasy atmosphere that subtly reveals the conflicting nostalgia of the artist as an outsider—"imagery forms"; whereas the first prize winner of this biennial, Tseng Chang-Cheng from Hong Kong, was originally a police officer who took up ceramics out of interest and passion. Despite living in space-constrained Hong Kong, he has amassed numerous pottery tools over the past 20 years. His work "Startling Splash" demonstrates outstanding hand-building techniques and a humorous approach, transforming ceramics—which typically signify hardness and permanence—into a momentary splash of water. While astonishing, it also successfully breaks away from the forms and traditional methods of modern ceramics, reflecting the "metamorphic forms" spirit of ceramics striving to pioneer a new era.

 

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