A City That Sings With Porcelain

Following in the footsteps of last year’s exemplary Han tombs exhibition was always going to be a difficult task for the Fitzwilliam Museum. “China’s White Gold: Contemporary Porcelain from Jingdezhen” shows us a slice of completely modern day China, so much so, that over half the exhibits were produced in the last year. It marks a different tack, being focused far more on the artistry and craftsmanship than the Han exhibition.

So why Jingdezhen? There really could be no other choice. If you are going to make an exhibition about porcelain, then it simply cannot be ignored, as the former producer of imperial porcelain for the Forbidden City in Beijing, despite being some 1200km away. In fact, it is still the largest producer of porcelain in China.

Since a move by the Chinese government in the 1970’s and 80’s toward private ownership of the factories, there has been an explosion in the variety of wares produced. From the flea markets to high-end art galleries, the city sings with porcelain and even lamp posts are made from it. This exhibition focuses mainly on the work of professors and students of the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute, China’s only higher education institution specialising in ceramics.

The centre piece is a spectacular vase created for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which manages to combine Chinese imperial imagery and symbols of femininity in an attractive contemporary design. Entitled “Happy and Glorious” by Feng Lin Hua and Ning Gang, both of whom are strongly influenced by the great wealth of traditional designs, it is an astonishing synergy of rich history and a roaring present. Beyond this, the JCI’s work represented is dazzling in its diversity and quality, ranging from the very traditional to the daringly new.

The works of prominent international artists working in the city, Takeshi Yasuda, Caroline Cheng and Felicity Aylie are grouped together near the start of the exhibition and are markedly different from the pieces by the JCI. ‑ is shows the versatility of the medium, producing very dissimilar work depending on whether or not the artist has received the traditional training, or in the case of Takeshi Yasuda, choices to completely depart from this.

All three of these artists work particularly bene­fits from the handbook which you pick up as you enter, as there are some interesting backstories to the pieces. The real success of the exhibition to me is in representing the diversity of porcelain production in Jingdezhen today and the importance of porcelain in Chinese art.

It really strongly reminded me of the city, due in part to the seemingly odd idea of including a case of modern reproductions next to historic pieces. Not only did this give the show a feel of place and continuity, but also challenges the viewer to guess which piece is which.

Throughout, the full range of techniques in manufacture are represented, which in itself is an impressive feat. My personal highlight is Ren Ruihua’s “Spoiling for a Fight”, a depiction of an armoured mythical beast strongly reminiscent of Durer’s Rhinoceros of 1515. The personality of this competitive beast is conveyed strongly, and combined with shoulders of the creature appearing to be spilling over with coins, I couldn’t stop myself thinking this was a metaphor for China as a whole.

This small free exhibition in the Fitzwilliam museum it is a perfect mid-day break from work. It runs from now until the 1st April - don’t miss out.