Today I felt like going to the museum. Why not? – I asked myself in the morning. This Sunday was one of a few days-off I get and I have realised that watching ‘Suits’ all day would not make me a better person.
So I took the smartest clothes I’ve got, put my glasses, which usually give an impression that my IQ is way higher than it really is, on and headed to the city centre to do what sophisticated people do on weekends. Educate myself.
And… What a surprise, I’ve found that there’s a new exhibition in town. Despite the fact that I’m not extremely into ceramics, the name of the display seemed to be intriguing enough to persuade me to delve deeper into the paraphernalia of porcelain artwork – ‘Ahead of the curve: new china from China’.
Sculpting was my least favourite subject at the art school, hence I did not expect much from this exhibition. However, I must admit that it has surpassed my expectations. For instance, these two works of Zhao Lantao.
‘Stand on the Cloud, no. 1’ – 2013 ‘At Ease’ – 2011
Both of those pieces of art have strong links to Buddhism and, according to the artist, resemble luohans (disciples of Buddha). Stretched earlobes, Abhaya Mudra (position of their palms meaning protection and blessing) third eye – they are the most significant symbols used when representing Buddha’s teachings through art. And let’s not forget about the traditional lotus motif. The author creates a dramatic contrast betwixt the spiky stems and the smoothness of china by embellishing the figures with springing lotus flowers as if they were natural parts of the luohans’ bodies.
What is the contrast for, though? I stood there, awkwardly staring at those two statues and after a while I made a hypothesis that Zhao Lantao has based his masterpieces on one of the most principal studies of Buddhism – suffering. Suffering is everywhere. It’s around us. It’s within us. Yet only by learning to accept this fact as it is and by finding a way to harness it, we can live in peace. Living in harmony with chaos and order is possible. This organic structure of porcelain flowers being a part of these sculptures is a wonderful illustration of such harmony. Originally the lotus flower itself rises from the muddy waters, symbolising achieving spiritual enlightenment after being born in the world full of the before mentioned suffering.
Another artist whose sculptures impressed me to the moon and back is Shao Changzong. Apart from an impeccable singbai (blue-white) glazing technique, each porcelain figure has a beautiful idea behind it. The ‘Dreamer’, for example, illustrates a world where eye contact is the only way to communicate and the concept of words is simply abandoned. What if there was no such thing as verbal language? …And again, there I was, standing in front of this sculpture completely zoned out, thinking, what if.
‘Dreamer’ – 2011
‘Low-flying’ – 2012
The ‘Dreamer’ is a modernised example of the Chinese ceramics tradition. I‘m talking about the historic blue-and-white vases, mostly made during the Ming dynasty (from 1368 to 1644). And I have to admit that it is quite similar to Russian gzhel. #onlyrussianpeople.
‘Low-flying’ is a subtle piece of art, which I find quite similar to the ones created by Zhao Lantao. The description of this sculpture beautifully says it all, “He [the artist] uses the traditional Shan [triangular shape, composed on 3 peaks, which recalls the Chinese character for ‘mountain’] symbol to convey the specific state of mind of an individual, <…> the search for a balance between our inner being and outer world.”
The exhibition is in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery till 1 March 2015. Don’t miss a chance to visit it and zone out in a public place, fantasising about the most bizarre things on this planet. It’s quite fun : )
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