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Xu Xiutang, the founder of contemporary purple clay sculpture

As an important category of Yixing purple clay, purple clay pottery sculpture is a handmade art with rich expression forms, and it is also a treasure of traditional Chinese art. In the development of purple clay pottery sculptures, many skilled craftsmen have appeared, who use their works to tell life and interpret art.

Master of pottery sculpture

the founder of contemporary purple clay sculpture

——Xu Xiutang

"First there are differences before soaring, first with different eyes and then rows." Xu Xiutang has carried forward the predecessors' Yuxing dolls and toys into a large variety, undoubtedly the opener of purple clay pottery sculptures (especially figures). Tradition follows the times. He takes the philosophy of life as the subject, and integrates the subject style into philosophical thinking, giving people the surprise of "outside of imagination, within reason". He has a strong realistic style, a character depiction of a typical character in a typical environment, and distortion. The freehand and exaggerated modern ceramic art technique has a personal style different from sculpture creation in other ceramic production areas, breaking through the inherent concepts of folk arts and crafts and the stylization of techniques and modeling, with inherent tension, formal beauty and diverse spiritual orientation Degree, reflecting the style of the times, carrying and passing on the national cultural spirit, thus creating a refreshing new state of art. ——Excerpt from "Ten Fingers Participation"

personage introduction

Xu Xiutang Chinese Arts and Crafts Master, Chinese Ceramic Art Master, Senior Arts and Crafts Artist, Member of Chinese Artists Association, Librarian of Jiangsu Provincial Museum of Culture and History, Representative Inheritor of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Project, Outstanding Inheritor of Chinese Folk Culture, Visiting researcher at the Institute of Arts and Crafts of the Chinese Academy of Arts, Honorary President of Jiangsu Ceramic Art Committee, Honorary President of Jiangsu Tea Culture Association, Vice President of Wuxi Tea Culture Research Association, Honorary President of Yixing Ceramic Association Sculpture Association, Jiangnan University Guest professor, Wuxi Vocational and Technical College of Technology. And was awarded the Global Chinese Culture and Art Salary Award, Chinese Arts and Crafts Lifetime Achievement Award, Chinese Ceramic Art, Design, Education Lifetime Achievement Award. Born in Yixing Shushan purple clay family in 1937. In 1954, he studied under the famous purple clay pottery carving artist Ren Ganting. In 1955, he joined the Shushan Pottery Cooperative (the predecessor of Yixing purple clay Craft Factory). In 1958, he participated in the Chinese Folk Sculpture Research Class. "Zhang (Zhang Jinghu)" studio learns color sculpture. Founded Changle Pottery Village in 1995. There are many monographs such as "Chinese Purple Clay ", "Master Talking Device-Xu Xiutang Talking about purple clay ", "Yixing Purple Clay Crafts", "Yixing Purple Clay Crafts Illustrated Book" and many other monographs for Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House and Shanghai Lexicographic Publishing House , Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Publishing House, etc.