UK show contrasts British, Chinese porcelain-making
Updated: 2016-07-22 17:05
By Andrew Moody(chinadaily.com.cn)
|
|||||||||
Clare Twomey [Photo provided to China Daily] |
"I went to Royal Crown Derby, which is one of our great porcelain producers. They agreed they would do this using their Avesbury design, one of the company's oldest that dates back to the 1930s and which incorporates 22-karat gold. It is English style and has lovely pheasants contrasting with the very Chinese peony flower design of the Chinese vases."
Whereas, the Chinese company could easily fire 80 large vases, Twomey found it difficult to find a single kiln in the UK that could now fire a vase 1.5 meters in height. She eventually had to go to Josiah Wedgwood and Sons in Stoke-on-Trent, which has a kiln big enough.
"When we fired the vases people from all over the factory came to look at what we were doing. We did three since you can't go to this trouble and then break one. That we could only do this at Wedgwood showed that we just can't do what they do in Jingdezhen," she said.
"At the same time the design by Royal Crown Derby is an example of what can be made in Britain today. The vase we have on display costs more than the other 79 vases put together.
"I am not saying, however, that the Jingdezhen factory could not have laid the 22-karat gold if we had asked them to do so."
Twomey says part of the idea behind the installation is to show how ceramic skills had changed over the centuries, with the UK becoming a leader in bone china production in the 18th century.
Twomey, who was brought up in Suffolk in the east of England, studied at the Edinburgh College of Art before doing a master's at the Royal College of Art in London, where she graduated in 1996.
Now a research fellow at the University of Westminster, she has had a number of major exhibitions, including The Secret History of Clay at the Tate Gallery in Liverpool in 2004 and Trophy at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2006. Many of her exhibitions such as Made in China have a social and historical context.
Twomey has not publicly revealed the name of the Jingdezhen manufacturer, since she says any number of Chinese manufacturers could have supplied the vases.
The installation, where the vases stand almost as tall as Terracotta Warriors, has previously been displayed in Norway and at the British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent.
She believes the Harley Gallery is an impressive venue for the exhibition. The gallery is the home of The Portland Collection, one of the most impressive art collections in the UK outside of London including paintings by George Stubbs and Anthony van Dyck.
"It has been a pleasure working with them. There is a very good team there and they were very open about the way the works should be shown," she says.
Made in China is on show at The Harley Gallery (www.harleygallery.co.uk), Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, UK, until Aug 14.
Related:
Palace Museum gets new collection
Photofairs Shanghai sees increasing global interest
Related Stories
My passion for Chinese art and culture: Italian Sinologist 2016-07-21 14:44
The birth of giant Thangka paintings 2016-07-21 09:50
Tenth China International Folk Art Festival to kick off in August 2016-07-20 15:57
Shanghai puts art and design into bags 2016-07-20 14:55
Contemporary Chinese art exhibition showcases China's rich art scene 2016-07-20 14:11
Today's Top News
French president urges Britain to begin EU exit talks
Turkey to restructure its army after coup attempt
UK to keep close economic ties with Germany: May
China's Fosun buys UK's Wolves for 45 million pounds
Rio 2016: Russia loses doping appeal
Brussels police: Bomb aleart was false alarm
May takes center stage in parliament's box-office show
Turkey's failed coup to consolidate Erdogan's power
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
Hollywood snaps up rock star's dog film |
Chinese people welcome dispossessed |
The can-do generation to the fore |
Riding the wave |
Leisure giants buoy cruise market |
She followed her heart |