On April 22nd, the opening ceremony of To Ideal Land of Ceramics—Exhibition of International Contemporary Ceramic Works was held at Tsinghua University Art Museum. Sponsored by China National Arts Fund and hosted by Tsinghua University Art Museum, this exhibition has invited sixty-nine influential ceramic artists from home and abroad to display eighty-three master pieces. “Integration and Extension”,”Extraordinary Details”, ”Appeals beyond Form” and “Gathering and Expansion” compose the four units of the exhibition, in which works of diversified forms, distinct ideas and different production techniques are put on display. By showing artists’ various understanding and experience of ceramics, the exhibition aims to endow the audience with cognition of diversity and generality by visiting and thinking. Ceramics, a craft of close relationship with human civilization, radiates its unique brilliance in the contemporary cultural pattern.

　　This exhibition is mounted in the 7th and 14th Hall on the fourth floor of Tsinghua University Art Museum from April 22 to September 9,2018.

　　Ceramic art, one of the classical art forms in traditional Chinese art, matured over thousands of years, has attained external beauty with its materials, and conveyed spiritual essence, which became an important component in the field of contemporary art. The way in which the object is fabricated depends as much on the heavenly craft, as it does on the maker’s skills. In other words, ceramic art is indebted to the harmony of the material, the craftsmanship, and its production process. As objects made from bare hands, breaking away from the framework of its preconceived craftsmanship, to be devoid of the traces from the furnace and the burning flames, and taking command of the color and glaze are no longer the focuses of contemporary ceramic artists. Perceptibly, how to present one’s understanding of nature, sentiments about the world, and creating a world that pertains to one’s life through the works of ceramic art have become the pursuit for many art contemporary artist— this is known as “the realm is envisioned through the mind, and with which one would find the principles that lead one there”. Or perhaps the spiritual realm of ceramic art is self evident, which does not require elegant conditions, but only with a piece of clay and fire lit in the furnace would suffice to provide a complete spiritual world, to convey the profound relationship between the self and this world.　　

　　To Ideal Land of Ceramics—Exhibition of International Contemporary Ceramic Worksfocuses on contemporary ceramic art with attempts to break away from the traditional model of production and aesthetics, by allowing the freedom of expression, for the artists to express their sentimental experiences that will manifest the stylistic diversity of the time. The development of contemporary ceramic art in the West has been influenced concurrently by modern and contemporary art, in particular artistic movements such as Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Surrealism etc. Whereas, modern and contemporary ceramic art in China emerged out of its inherent tradition and the influence from modern and contemporary art from the West. It embraces the indigenous local Chinese style, as well as the language used in international discourse. In recent years, as ceramic art in China has become diversified and individualized, the artists in China developed skills to negotiate local traditions with foreign styles as their exchange and interactions on an international level increased.

　　To Ideal Land of Ceramics—Exhibition of International Contemporary Ceramic Works, held by the Tsinghua University Art Museum, has gained strong support from China National Arts Fund. Aiming at promoting the exchange of cultural art of China and world, the exhibition spreads the development and innovation of the centuried ceramic art in the contemporary context. Particularly, in this exhibition, contemporary ceramics from home and abroad will be put on display together with the classic collection of porcelains, forming a trans-century retrospection and dialogue of handicraft art. The collision between Chinese traditional ceramics and international modern ceramics is bound to bring us fresh ideas and multiple inspirations, promoting the deepening of audiences’ understanding of ceramic art and contributing to the enrichment of the “Renewal of Humanities” culture at Tsinghua University.