By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network, reported and compiled by Chen Guanxin
The most anticipated and spectacular art event in the global ceramics scene, this is the only large-scale professional international ceramics exhibition in the country — Ceramic Visions: 2012 Taiwan International Ceramics Biennial Exhibition, now open until January 27, 2013, at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. Themed “Ceramic Visions,” and centered on the core concepts of “象” (form/image) and “观象” (observing the form/image), the exhibition explores the multiple imaginations derived from the character “象,” allowing visitors to step into and appreciate the diverse “aspects” of ceramic creation.
The first-prize-winning work “Startling Splash” by Tseng Chang-Cheng showcases exceptional hand-building skills. (Photo provided by Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts)
The exhibition content is divided according to the forms and meanings expressed in the artworks, including “Object Forms” that pursue the beauty of external appearance, “Recorded Forms” that narrate and document contemporary social environments, “Imagery Forms” that delve into inner emotions and ideas, and “Transformative Forms” that explore the fluidity and instability of time and space. For instance, Taiwanese ceramic artist Lee Tsung-Ju successfully challenges conventional notions of “material” and “object” in his “Straw Mud Branches” series, using real straw mixed with porcelain clay and crafting entirely by hand to create a visual form where ceramics “appropriate and replicate reality,” leading viewers into a playful exploration of the diverse aspects of ceramics known as “Object Forms.” British ceramic artist Andrew Livingstone repurposes mass-produced, cheap ceramic dogs from industrial production, dressing them in human-like attire, thereby subverting the grand, artwork-level scale of traditional ceramics. He challenges artists’ obsession with handmade craftsmanship and satirizes today’s popular culture, which is often cheap and artificial — an approach reflective of the “Recorded Forms” trend.
Gold Award winner Osamu Kojima’s “Nostalgia. Taiwan─01” creates an uneasy atmosphere through the use of glass material. (Photo provided by Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts)
Additionally, Gold Award winner Osamu Kojima’s “Nostalgia 'Taiwan─01” has a strong sculptural feel, with the use of glass seemingly freezing a rock-like structure in space and time, evoking an uneasy atmosphere and subtly revealing the contradictory and complex nostalgia of the artist as an outsider — an “Imagery Form.” Meanwhile, the first-prize winner of this Biennial, Hong Kong-based Tseng Chang-Cheng, was originally a police officer who took up ceramics out of interest and passion. Despite living in Hong Kong’s space-constrained homes, he has amassed numerous pottery tools over the past 20 years. His piece “Startling Splash,” with its outstanding hand-building techniques and humorous touch, transforms the notion of ceramics as hard and eternal into a “momentary” splash of water. While astonishing, it also successfully breaks away from modern ceramic forms and traditional methods, reflecting the “Transformative Forms” spirit of ceramics striving to usher in a new era.
● Read More: Sheep and Wolf Hold Hands – Kaohsiung Giant Balloon Parade Kicks Off on December 9
http://goo.gl/gPzvV