The Grand Opening of the “Chinese Color Glaze Ceramic Art Tour Exhibition (Jingde Zhen, China)”

Millennium Chinese Color Glaze Ceramic Craft, Traditional Culture and Contemporary Art Dialogue

On the morning of May 15, 2025, the“Chinese Color Glaze Ceramic Art Tour Exhibition (Jingde Zhen, China中国景德镇)”, a Communication and Promotion Project funded by the China National Arts Fund (CNAF) 2025, was grandly inaugurated at the Jingdezhen Art Museum. Supported by the National Art Fund Management Center and the China Arts and Crafts Society, and co-hosted by Beijing City University (BCU) and the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum, with School of Cultural Heritage of BCU and the Jingdezhen Art Museum jointly organizing, this is the second station of the national tour following the opening in Guilin. The exhibition gathers works from numerous artists across national art academies and research institutions, aiming to advance the dissemination and contemporary expression of traditional Chinese color glaze ceramic art.

China's Porcelain Capital Welcomes Visitors, Chinese Color Glaze Cerami Recreates Thousands of Years of History

The opening ceremony was hosted by Yue Jun岳峻, Vice Chairman of the Jiangxi Arts and Crafts Society and Party Secretary of the Jingdezhen Art Museum. Li Bing, Director of the Cultural Heritage Department at Beijing City University and project leader of the China Color glaze Ceramic Art Exhibition supported by the National Art Fund, introduced the curatorial vision and preparation process. He noted that the exhibition features 83 works (or sets) by 63 artists, encompassing a diverse range of forms including porcelain paintings, sculptures, and installations. The exhibition is structured around three thematic sections—“Inheritance of Classics,” “Crafted Ingenuity,” and “Fusion Across Boundaries”—offering a comprehensive presentation of the multidimensional evolution of Chinese color glaze ceramic art from traditional forms to contemporary expressions.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Yue Jun岳峻, Vice Chairman of the Jiangxi Arts and Crafts Society and Party Secretary of the Jingdezhen Art Museum.

Li Bing 李冰, Director of the Department of Cultural Relics and Museology at the School of Cultural Heritage, Beijing City University, and Project Leader of this exhibition, gave an overview of the exhibition’s preparation process.

Chen Meixia陈美霞, Director of the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum, emphasized that color glaze ceramics—an exemplary category within the Chinese ceramic tradition—embody both aesthetic value and technical complexity. She noted that the unique glaze language and philosophical depth of these works reflect the distinctive spirit of Chinese decorative arts. This touring exhibition, she added, is not only an active fulfillment of the museum’s cultural mission but also offers contemporary audiences an aesthetic gateway into the world of ceramics.

Speech by Chen Meixia陈美霞, Director of the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum

Lü Pinchang吕品昌—Deputy Party Secretary and Acting Vice President of Jingdezhen Ceramic University, Council Member of the China Artists Association, Chair of the Public Art Committee, and Vice Chair of the Academic Review Committee of the China Arts and Crafts Society—remarked that the inimitable beauty of kiln transformation inherent in color glaze ceramics is a vivid reflection of the enduring vitality of Chinese civilization. He emphasized that the exhibition is not merely a retrospective of ceramic traditions, but more importantly, a starting point for future innovation. Lü expressed hope that the exhibition will serve as a catalyst for deeper collaboration among art institutions and research bodies nationwide, fostering an innovative community in ceramic art education—bringing traditional craftsmanship into modern classrooms, empowering ancient kilns with digital technology, and awakening millennia-old heritage through youthful creativity. Ultimately, he called for the realization of a cultural vision where “artifacts housed in museums and words written in ancient books truly come to life.”

Speech by Lü Pinchang吕品昌, Deputy Party Secretary and Acting President of Jingdezhen Ceramic University, Council Member of the China Artists Association, Chair of the Public Art Committee, and Vice Chair of the Academic Review Committee of the China Arts and Crafts Society

Subsequently, six distinguished guests—Lü Pinchang, Dong Bo董博, Zheng Ning郑宁, Zhu Legeng朱乐耕, Yue Jun岳峻, and Chen Meixia陈美霞—jointly inaugurated the exhibition, greeted by enthusiastic applause and a vibrant atmosphere. After the ceremony, the attendees posed for a group photo and toured the exhibition halls together, immersing themselves in the radiant beauty of the glazes on display.

Group Photo of the Guests

Experts and Scholars Gather to Discuss Ceramic Aesthetics

On the day of the opening, distinguished guests in attendance included Lü Pinchang, Deputy Party Secretary and Acting President of Jingdezhen Ceramic University, Council Member of the China Artists Association, Director of the Public Art Committee, and Deputy Director of the Academic Review Committee of the China Arts and Crafts Society; Dong Bo, Vice President of the China Ceramic Industry Association; Zhuo Lekeng, Honorary Dean and Doctoral Supervisor at the Institute of Literature and Art, Chinese National Academy of Arts; Zheng Ning, Professor at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University; and Yue Jun, Deputy Director of the Jiangxi Arts and Crafts Society and Party Secretary of the Jingdezhen Art Museum. These key figures from universities, professional associations, and art institutions were joined by Chen Meixia, Director of the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum; Chen Qiurong, Director of the School of Cultural Heritage, Beijing City University; Wang Wenxiao, Associate Dean of the School of International Culture and Communication; and Li Bing, Head of the Department of Cultural Relics and Museology, along with other participating faculty members.

Also present were teachers and doctoral students from Jingdezhen Ceramic University, as well as several Jiangxi Provincial arts and crafts masters and intangible cultural heritage inheritors, all of whom engaged in on-site dialogue and exhibition tours. While showcasing achievements in artistic creation and academic research, the exhibition also served to enhance communication and collaboration among universities, institutions, and the ceramic industry. It fully demonstrated the research value and promotional potential of color glaze ceramic art in the context of contemporary culture.

Academic Symposium: Expanding the Theoretical Dimensions of Ceramics

Following the opening ceremony, a thematic academic symposium titled “The Traditional Continuation and Contemporary Expression of Color Glaze Ceramics” was held in the multimedia hall on the first floor of Jingdezhen Art Museum. The symposium was chaired by Professor Li Bing李冰 from the School of Cultural Heritage at Beijing City University and featured in-depth, multidimensional discussions on the creative concepts, theoretical frameworks, communication strategies, and future directions of color glaze ceramic art.

Symposium in Session

Zheng Dongmei郑冬梅, Director of the Experimental Art Teaching and Research Section at the School of Fine Arts, Jingdezhen Ceramic University, delivered a presentation titled “Moments of Life: Blossoms Bloom and Fall.” She shared her creative approach to mixed-media sculptures inspired by flowers, integrating ceramics with materials like wood and glass. She emphasized the unique charm of huayou language in expressing life’s flow, emotional expression, and material experimentation, reflecting a continuous exploration of natural poetry in contemporary expression.

Liu Junxiang刘君湘, a council member of the Henan Arts and Crafts Association, presented “the History of Chinese Color Glaze Ceramics.” Starting from historical documents and craft lineage, he systematically outlined the craft value and cultural genealogy of color glaze ceramic art, offering new insights into redefining color glaze ceramics in the current context, highlighting its innovative potential and cultural reconstruction function.

As a special guest commentator, Professor Zhu Legeng朱乐耕, Honorary Dean of the Institute of Literature and Art at the Chinese National Academy of Arts, professor, doctoral supervisor, Vice President of the China Cultural Industry Association, and a member of the 11th, 12th, and 13th National Committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, highly praised the exhibition. He believed that the exhibition’s overall planning system was complete, and the artistic expressions were rich, encompassing the inheritance of traditional techniques and reflecting diverse explorations of contemporary language, truly presenting artistic characteristics that are “broad,” “deep,” and “new.”

Director Yue Jun岳峻, Vice President of the Jiangxi Arts and Crafts Association and Party Branch Secretary of the Jingdezhen Art Museum, discussed the public cultural function of art museums. He pointed out that color glaze ceramic art is an important embodiment of the spirit of Chinese ceramics and a vivid carrier of Chinese aesthetic thought. The art museum will continue to promote the contemporary expression and international dissemination of traditional craft resources, providing a public platform and curatorial support for building cultural confidence in ceramics.

Director Chen Meixia陈美霞 of the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum discussed the guiding value of huayou ceramics in the art education system, combining the exhibition’s on-site works. She emphasized that integrating “materials—craft—culture” into the production-education system is a key path for contemporary universities to promote innovation in ceramic art.

Professor Chen Qiurong陈秋荣, Director of the Cultural Heritage Department at Beijing City University, provided a comprehensive overview of the exhibition’s planning concepts and implementation processes from a curatorial perspective. He pointed out that this exhibition is not only a concentrated presentation of artistic achievements but also a focused test of interdisciplinary collaboration and art education practice. He looks forward to using this as an opportunity to promote deeper dialogue and collaboration among ceramic art universities nationwide.

Associate Professor Wang Wenxiao王文萧, Deputy Director of the International Culture and Communication Department at Beijing City University, explored how color glaze ceramics can achieve broader public dissemination through visual storytelling, media integration, and exhibition planning from the perspective of cultural communication. He emphasized the leading role of universities in promoting the modern transformation of traditional ceramic crafts.

In addition, many participating experts and scholars, including Wang Jingyu王婧宇, Nie Zhangcheng聂张成, Shao Ying邵颖, Jin Wen晋文, Sun Luhuan孙乐欢, Li Hongwei李宏伟, and Lin Jun林军, actively participated in free discussions. They offered suggestions on topics such as the construction of the color glaze ceramics education system, the cultivation of young talents, and cultural dissemination paths, reflecting a high degree of integration between artistic practice and academic research in contemporary expression. This symposium demonstrated a positive interactive mechanism centered on “academia promoting art, art feeding back into education,” providing valuable intellectual support and path inspiration for the development of Chinese color glaze ceramics in the new era.

It is reported that this exhibition will continue until June 5, during which a series of public education activities such as university observations, public tours, and color glaze ceramics experiences will be held. The organizers hope that through this touring exhibition, more young ceramic artists will be inspired to think and practice, exploring the possibilities of “moving towards the future” on the path of “coming from tradition.”

In the future, this touring exhibition project will also be held in cultural hubs such as Beijing and Fuzhou, continuing to use color glaze ceramics as a carrier to promote the creative transformation and contemporary expression of traditional crafts, empowering urban cultural construction and the development of public aesthetic education. As advocated by the National Art Fund, let excellent traditional culture truly “come alive, be passed down, and go global.”

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