little update

Expressing ideas about art in a theoretical or systematic fashion is a quick way to either, set yourself up for a failure or a tired and clichéd success. I don't want either of those. Art is such a great outlet to ask questions you don't need an absolute answer to. I think there are too many currents in the art world focused on creating these neatly packaged systems to engage with art. The academic world has put a lot of energy into celebrating and championing a dry formulaic way of experiencing and creating art. I'm more interested in allowing for diverse ways of interacting with the art. I don't want to tell people what to think about what I create, rather I expect a willing viewer to intersect and interact with something I have made. I don't want anyone to walk away with feeling of 'oh I get it', and then that's it.

I'm definitely not going to worry about what a work of art will do in 100 years, that's nearly impossible to predict. I'm more worried about the here and now with what concerns me today. I do strive to make pieces that can touch on something specific and personal, something of the times, as well as something more universal & constant--- by doing so I hope that what I make today will still hold some value 100 years from now.

I love that tension between something being beautiful and grotesque at the same time. It creates a dance between the viewer and the work of art where they're being pulled in and pushed away at the same time. I think the painting, 'Confrontation'. At a glance it does command your attention on colors alone-it was an alluring painting to me. I'm very conscious of the colors I use and tend to create my palate out of colors that give me pleasure. Often they're pulled from skin tones and fashion magazines. Colors are great seducers.



Something make me contemplate

China was one of the oldest states in the world. But did its citizens see it as a nation?

Could they shed their Confucian emphasis on self-cultivation enough to feel notions of civic solidarity?

Could the state’s institutions be overhauled enough to cope with the challenges of international politics?

And could a modern Chinese nation come into being without destroying China’s proud cultural identity?

-- Liang Qichao

Liang Qichao (1873-1929) was a pioneering Chinese intellectual, journalist and social campaigner who embodied the Chinese reform movement that eventually led the country into Republicanism and then communism. Liang was born into a China that was perennially under siege by colonial powers; its seemingly never-ending wars inevitably concluded with increasingly humiliating and exploitative treaties. While studying for the arduous civil-service exams, Liang met and became a supporter of Kang Youwei, already a well-known reformist and activist. He helped Kang publish a magazine, Domestic and Foreign Affairs, in Beijing, and was subsequently invited by the reform-friendly governor of Hunan to set up newspapers there. Kang and Liang then petitioned the Emperor, urging him to reform the ancient system in order to fend off foreign aggression, and were invited to work with him on what became known as the Hundred Days’ Reform, an ambitious set of cultural, political and educational initiatives, before being driven out of China after a conservative coup. When the Empress Dowager Cixi placed a price upon his head, Liang fled to Japan.

Liang was first among the new breed of thinkers from colonised countries – what later came to be referred to as the third world – to notice and describe the ill effects of imperialism not only on the vanquished nations but also on the empire-builders. He is a massive cultural figure in China, cited as a powerful influence on generations of Chinese intellectuals and leaders, yet almost unknown outside of the country. His story is particularly timely now that China is, once again, exerting increasing political and social influence on the rest of the world.

Text by Pankaj Mishra

Recent Glass Works

Last week, when i doing tutorial with Mr. David, he suspiciously asked me why i swift my attention from textile to glass, but actually, this conversation has already occurred at last tutorial. Therefore i realize that people may not comprehend why am i working with glass. Actually, the choice of this material is no coineidence, there're 3 reasons i must elaborate to you!

1) from last Module, i made textile jewellery but it ends up to tacky crafts


2) Working experience in China Contemporary Glass Museum, I spend 10 hours a day, 5 days a week company with crystal glass art work.


3) My merchant parents, they own a glass factory producing cars front light. I admire their indomitable and spunky spirit.

raw wood ash

used wood ash

Spontaneity, from the first minute I saw molten glass it became my passion. It looked so hot, dangerous, technical and a real challenge. I love using glass and the process of working with hot glass, it gives me a lot of feed back and it doesn't always do exactly what you want, it means, sometimes I got to make one piece 4 to 5 time before I get it right. Sometime I get it completely wrong and it hits in the furnace or breaks. But I like the agility the material gives me. It's a medium intuitive for me.

ceramics in the glass

Nevertheless Mr. David wittily encouraged me to use this material not just technically but also conceptually, i start to experiment with ceramics and even wood ashes, “conflicts,” “organic,” “delicacy,” and “romantic” are some of the implications and themes that inform my works and where i exploit a more conceptual approach.

Challenge:

Texture, surface, abstraction, memory and place they all elements of we have to think about. Material exploration and technical problem solving is an initial part of explaining my design orientation. To make it my own way is to make personal style aesthetic decision making process and potential for future development. Those pictures document the process of how I making a brooch. Mix and Match, feel the visual impact, what makes this combination visually harmonious.

To turn my emotional abstraction to actual work is the charm of my mission. To select, balance and decrease & add the relationship between figurative work and abstraction, so that to improve the work visually and conceptually synchronous

Talk about the beauty of a piece of art, more and more people tend to agree that, intelligence and spirit which inside the design of jewellery are way more valuable than the actual price of it, no matter it is a silver necklace or a diamond ring. Therefore it is this passion and urges to create something and express the joy of design. There is much more than to just putting colours or shapes together. Professor Jivan once told me: Contemporary jewellery comes from great knowledge and experience of art allied to hard work.

In addition, the evolution of the work is something that interests me greatly and as part of its continuing cycle which I learned from a lot. When I was studying on my MA I wanted to understand why I was drawn to working with these materials. Apart from their tactile and aesthetic qualities, it was the connection that I feel to my study background which is costume design (Costume design background= large knowledge technique of fabric and textile, and different dressing styles from kaleidoscopic cultures) and in my family we have a tradition that girls should inherit the skill from the female member like weaving and knitting. So, what is my strong point in design? This is the characteristics of my every little pieces.

Anna Sui, top 10

Chinese Spring Festival

2008 Beijing Olympic Game

Grand designers Live, London

home decoration

interior design

Vessel Gallery, London

Glass is an extraordinary material with qualities demanding both technical and chemical mastery plus aesthetic and artistic judgement on the part of the artist. It can imitate other materials and also be imitated. It is capable of being coloured, cast, blown, fused, engraved and more. All methods are used to produce the utilitarian and the mass produced as well as the unique work of art. It is this latter which offers vast opportunities to the new collector. 

However, the question to be asked is 'why are not more people collecting studio glass in Britain?' In both Europe and America art glass is seen in the same bracket as mainstream contemporary art and there is a huge market. Is it a question of confidence or lack of awareness? I increasingly believe it is the latter.