Finely crafted cups on display

Visitors admire various cups at Art Design Center in Luohu District. Photos from the center’s WeChat account

Nearly 1,000 cups crafted by 36 international artists are on display at the Art Design Center in Luohu District. Although they are just cups, these craft works provoke an immediate sense of awe through an expressive, yet considered, handling of surface decoration. They are deeply-rooted within a context of traditional Chinese ceramic-making, yet immediately contemporary.

The 36 artists are from China, Britain, the United States, Japan and Singapore. Highlighted artists include Felicity Aylieff, Takeshi Yasuda and Matt Watterson.

Finely crafted cups are on display.

Aylieff is one of the most innovative contemporary British artists working in clay. She established her reputation as a maker of large-scale, sculptural ceramics at the Royal College of Art in 1996. Ten years on, during an artist residency in Jiangxi Province’s Jingdezhen, the historic home of Chinese porcelain production, she saw the beginning of a series of monumental pots. Returning each summer since then Aylieff has developed the surface decoration of the pots with printed, stylized drawings of plants and flowers or colorful clouds of exquisite, exotic butterflies.

The strong relationships developed with porcelain factories have enabled Aylieff to work in an unprecedented way and the knowledge and expertise gained from this rich cultural exchange have offered her unlimited inspiration. Her work reflects her confidence when drawing upon and reinterpreting traditional Chinese techniques of porcelain production and decoration.

Yasuda’s early work consisted of ash-glazed stoneware, after which he explored sancai and creamware. Most recently Yasuda has been working with celadon-glazed porcelain. Since setting up a second studio in Jingdezhen in 2005, he has continued his development of celadon, working with many different varieties of porcelain clay. His works are held in major public and private collections worldwide, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Watterson is an artist from Columbus, Ohio, the United States and now lives and works in Jingdezhen. He graduated from The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Along with his porcelain design work, Watterson dedicates his art practice to ceramic sculpture, mixed media sculpture and large-scale installation works. Watterson has exhibited and sold his work both domestically and abroad and has attended residencies and expositions throughout China, Thailand and the United States.

Dates: Until Aug. 3

Hours: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m., closed Mondays

Booking: 153-2370-4570

Venue: Phase 3, Art Design Center, Luohu District (罗湖区艺展中心三期)

Metro: Line 7 or 9 to Hongling North Station (红岭北站), Exit D