DAI Kuiyang
Dai Kuiyang was born in Yushan (Jiangxi Province) in 1969. He began his artistic training in high school and completed an undergraduate degree at the China Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou. He studies ceramic painting at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute of Fine Arts.
Dai, who trained in oil painting and has knowledge of Western art, believes that employing a linear perspective to a flat canvas does not provide sufficient depth. He addresses this concern through his experiments with ceramic painting. Dai layers pigments to create textured surfaces on his works, which are enhanced by the unpredictable outcomes of metal-oxide colors and glazes produced when firing at high temperatures. In recent years, he has traveled frequently to Tibet for inspiration and created a series of ceramic paintings based on sketches he made during those visits.
Dai works and resides in Jingdezhen.
FANG Yuan
Fang Yuan, who was born in Tongling (Anhui Province) in 1965, grew up in an artistic family and studied with his father from an early age. In 1986, Fang was accepted by the PLA Academy of Arts and majored in oil painting.
Fang has worked with ceramics for over ten years. During this time, he developed a distinct artistic style that builds upon his training in oil painting to create vivid, hyperrealistic depictions. In recent years, he has specialized in large-scale ceramic painting. Twilight exemplifies Fang’s ability to combine highly skilled, meticulous brushwork with the technical application of powder enamel and overglaze decoration.
Fang has received numerous awards during his career, including the Master of Chinese Arts & Crafts in 2009. More than thirty of his works have been reproduced in professional publications, and several are found in Chinese galleries and museums. He works and lives in Jingdezhen.
HuGe JiLeTu
HuGe JiLeTu (“Dafa”) was born in Xilin Gol (Inner Mongolia) in 1986. He graduated from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute of Fine Arts where he studied polychrome underglaze decoration.
Dafa’s art reflects his youth in the great prairies of Inner Mongolia, as well as his multicultural experiences. He is well known in China for his loosely sketched characters. Tang Dynasty Charm and Listening capture the artist’s unique portrayal of the inner emotions of anonymous female figures depicted throughout the centuries in Chinese art.
Besides Dafa’s use of traditional Chinese ink painting and other artistic methods, he has experimented with a technique known as high-firing polychrome decoration. This often results in the finished porcelain bearing a remarkable resemblance to an oil painting.
Dafa works and resides in Jingdezhen.
JIANG Baolin
Jiang Baolin, who was born in Pingdu (Shandong Province) in 1942, graduated from Hangzhou’s Zhejiang Art Academy in 1967. He later attended the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing where he studied under Li Keran, a revered master of Chinese landscape ink painting.
Jiang specializes in both Chinese flower and landscape ink painting and developed his own style of line drawing for the latter genre. In recent years, he has applied his painting skills to ceramics and is considered the “founder of line drawing” on blue-and-white porcelain.
Jiang’s work has been exhibited widely: he has held solo exhibitions in Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Paris, and other cities around the world. His numerous accolades and international awards include the 1992 Grand Prix at the International d’Art Contemporain de Monte Carlo. National and international institutions, such as the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and the Asian Art Museum in Seoul, have his art as part of their collections.
Jiang is a visiting professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and a Ph.D. advisor at Tsinghua University in Beijing and the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. He works and resides in Beijing.
JIN Zhaotao
Jin Zhaotao was born in Yingkou (Liaoning Province) in 1944 and has practiced Chinese landscape ink painting for over 40 years. When he visited Jingdezhen three years ago, he met Madame Luo Yinggui and was impressed by her vision and innovative ideas about expanding the ceramic arts. He considers his work with the Ren Jian Ci Hua gallery as an opportunity not only to contribute to the traditional arts, but also to experiment with contemporary techniques and styles.
Jin lives what he deems to be a true and simple life and has a great interest in consummate beauty. He strives for honesty in his art and seeks to capture the majesty of nature. In many works by this prolific artist, thatched houses, wooden bridges, trees, and mountains come together to form harmonious natural scenes. His works often create a “Zen-like” world and underscore the contrast between illusion and reality.
Jin works and resides in Anshan (Liaoning Province).
LIU Zheng
Liu Zheng, who was born in Nanchang (Jiangxi Province), graduated from Hangzhou’s China Academy of Art where he majored in ceramic arts.
Liu’s work is driven by an inner struggle to find a balance between tradition and innovation. His painting challenges the limitations of movement by the human body and stretches the technical boundaries of ceramic manufacturing. For example, his series of the four seasons – Autumn, Spring, Summer, and Winter – demonstrates the plasticity of clay through depictions of intertwined and overlapping abstract human forms.
The annual China Contemporary Ceramic Arts Exhibition has featured Liu’s art. He is Deputy Director of the Ceramic Committee for the China Artists Association, a jury member of the Masters of Chinese Arts and Crafts, and is a professor and graduate advisor at the China Academy of Arts. Liu works and resides in Hangzhou.
LUO Xuezheng
Luo Xuezheng was born in Jingdezhen (Jiangxi Province) in 1942. He graduated from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute of Fine Arts where he is now a professor and graduate student advisor.
Luo has dedicated his life to studying ceramics as a scholar and an artist. He is fascinated by the unpredictable colors caused when glazed decorations are subjected to various firing temperatures. These color effects, together with the different outcomes of glost-fired underglaze decorations, provide an aesthetic typical of Luo’s works. He is considered a master of the underglaze red and polychrome decoration techniques. Moonlight, Autumn Village, Old House, and Autumn Waterfall are excellent examples of his artistic style and technical achievements.
Luo has authored numerous publications, including a monograph and more than 50 academic essays. His artworks have been reproduced in major publications, including The Complete Works of Chinese Contemporary Arts. A senior member of the China National Art & Craft Society, Luo has lectured in Asia, Europe, and the United States. He works and resides in Jingdezhen.
MA Dingmin
Ma Dingmin was born in Shenxian (Shandong Province) in 1977. He graduated with a Master’s degree from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute of Fine Arts where he specialized in high-fire glazing techniques. In 2009, he left his teaching job and moved with his wife, artist You Cuiqing, to Jingdezhen. Despite their extremely limited resources, the couple pursued a shared passion for art and eventually joined the Ren Jian Ci Hua gallery.
Ma argues that artists must deviate from conventional and conceptual restraints before they can create something truly original. Influenced by cultures from both the East and West, he blends traditional Chinese painting techniques with Western oil painting methods. Ma feels a close connection with nature and believes in preserving the inherent qualities of clay to create a powerful statement. He draws inspiration from ongoing experiments with the firing process and his works reflect his fascination with glazing techniques.
Ma and his wife, who is also represented in this exhibition, work and reside in Jingdezhen.
XU Ying
Xu Ying was born in Linchuan (Jiangxi Province) in 1969 and graduated from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute of Fine Arts. She studied under Madame Xu Huiguang and has extensive training in ink wash, gouache, and oil painting. Xu Ying, who is interested in multiple artistic media, began to experiment with ceramic painting – a method she learned from expert porcelain artists in 1980.
She has a keen interest in nature and infuses that spirit into her artworks. This has resulted in the creation of subtle transitions between light and shadow. Xu takes advantage of the color effects created by the kiln’s high temperature to add depth to blue skies, snow-covered ground, and other natural elements in her pastoral scenes. Her works have a monumental quality, yet are characterized by a meticulous attention to detail.
Xu has been praised in China and abroad for her mastery of colored glazing and spray decoration and has received numerous awards throughout her career. Several of her paintings are included among the holdings of Chinese regional museums. She works and resides in Jingdezhen.
YOU Cuiqing
You Cuiqing was born in Shandong Province in 1978 and moved to Jingdezhen with her artist husband, Ma Dingmin, in 2009. She received her Master’s degree from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute of Fine Arts.
Despite You’s claims that her most creative works are influenced by her husband’s art, she has developed a style that is all her own. You experiments with a variety of methods. Inspired by traditional Chinese painting, she employs glost-firing techniques in many of her recent works. These are characterized by the use of vibrant colors and the delicate treatment of subject matter as seen in the Bodhisattva series. Many viewers appreciate You’s simple and elegant approach and consider her work to be a mastery of classical romanticism.
You is recognized as one of the most accomplished high-fire glaze ceramic painters in Jingdezhen. She works and resides there with her husband who is also featured in this exhibition.
ZHANG Ruiling
Zhang Ruiling was born in Tangshan (Hebei Province) in 1933. He began to practice calligraphy every day at the age of six and has continued this routine for the past 60 years. He specializes in the regular script type of Chinese calligraphy and is considered one of the most accomplished practitioners of his generation.
Zhang has copied countless works by great masters, including Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, and Ouyang Xun. He eventually developed a style characterized by both its precision and fluid brushstrokes. Zhang’s colleagues have praised his work and refer to him as the “Number One Regular Scripter in China.” He recently began using his lifelong skills to experiment with calligraphy on ceramic plaques.
Zhang has provided calligraphy for national monuments in China – a great honor for a Chinese artist. His writings have been presented to heads of state and foreign leaders and are found in several Chinese museums and galleries. He works and resides in Beijing.
ZHAO Mengge
Zhao Mengge, who was born in Henan Province in 1974, took oil painting lessons in high school and continued studying art in college. She later graduated from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Zhao combines her long-standing knowledge of oil painting with recent experiments in ceramics. Her works on porcelain expand on an earlier series she executed in oil, titled Spiritual Portraits of Myself. The oil paintings explored the theme of eternal desire through oblique references to ancient Chinese women. This subject matter extends to her ceramic works. Zhao’s female figures often combine the grace of Tang Dynasty women with modern representations of the nude in Western art. This fusion of styles and traditions results in a unique interpretation of feminine beauty.
Her artworks are recognized throughout China, and are included in the collection of Beijing’s China Central Gallery. She works and resides in Beijing.
Jared FitzGerald
Jared FitzGerald was born in Seattle, Washington, to a well-known artistic family. At an early age, he learned about art from his sculptor father, James, and his painter mother, Margaret Tomkins. FitzGerald attended the University of Washington from 1973 to 1976 and concentrated in painting.
He visited China in 2008 and began to experiment with media such as Chinese paper and silk. FitzGerald participated in numerous exhibitions in Beijing and Tonglu and in 2010 was introduced to Ren Jian Ci Hua’s Beijing gallery. Shortly thereafter, he began working with the company in Jingdezhen. There, FitzGerald expanded his artistic expertise when he took on the challenges posed by large-scale ceramic painting. His work integrates Western pop culture into Chinese traditions associated with blue-and-white porcelain.
FitzGerald has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Spain, and China. He maintains working studios in New York, New Mexico, Beijing, and Jingdezhen.
