Yang Hongwei

Weifang, also known as Yuandou, has a long tradition of kitemaking, distinguished for its refined approach and superb mastery. Weifang kites employ bamboo rods for the body of the kite and high quality silk for the surface. Painted by hand in a wide variety of forms, the kites are classified into several schools including the traditional folk school, the traditional artisan school and the modern innovative school. In 2006, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China included the Weifang Kite in the first batch of inscriptions on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

A third-generation heir to a kite-making family and an artisan in the Yangjiabu Kite Factory for over twenty years, Yang Hongwei is an acclaimed practitioner of the craft of the Weifang Kite. Yang has worked at home and abroad on the design, painting, tying and flying of kites, earning her wide acclaim and numerous awards.

Jin Fengjie

SPLASH-COLOUR PAPER CUTTING
23 / 08 ~ 11 / 09
2011

Protected by national patent, the art of Liaocheng splashcolour paper cutting is produced by splashing four colours – red, yellow, blue and black – onto intricately cut and folded pieces of paper, producing bright and beautiful works.

Born into a family of paper cutters, Jin Fengjie is credited as ‘The First Artisan of Splash-colour Paper Cutting in China’, and she was awarded a national patent for her invention. Jin learned and began performing the arts of calligraphy, painting and paper cutting at a young age. With a particularly keen proficiency at painting coloured flowers, birds and figures, Jin incorporates elements of modern colour painting, Chinese motifs and decorative art into the Chinese paper cutting tradition, setting out on the inventive journey of splash-colour paper cutting.

Liu Yongqiang

PORCELAIN VASE CARVING
13 / 09 ~ 02 / 10
2011

Porcelain Carving is an integrated art involving printmaking, Chinese painting, oil painting, calligraphy and seal engraving, distinguished by its skilled use of the knife. The development of porcelain carving began with simple carvings of words and seals and then grew into the depiction of diverse motifs such as landscapes, figures, birds, flowers, animals and calligraphy. The art uses various blade techniques and lavish colours to create a range of patterns. Carvings combined with brush-and-ink Chinese painting are especially effective at creating lifelike illustrations.

A master of Shandong Province’s handcrafts and ceramic arts, Liu Yongqiang has won awards in several exhibitions and is an art critic at home and abroad. His work Along the River during the Qingming Festival took first prize in the 1^st National Carving Competition and was dubbed a ‘Masterpiece of Porcelain Carving’ by arts specialists.

Mu Xujian

HEZE DOUGH FIGURINES
13 / 09 ~ 02 10
2011

Dough Figurines are representative of Shandong folk culture. In the city of Heze, traditionally known as Caozhou, the first dough sculptors customarily fashioned images of pigs and lambs. The figurines were used as sacrificial substitutes for slaughtered animals in the worship of heaven and earth and the spirits, meant to solicit favourable weather for growing crops and protection from the deities. Later, sculptors mixed vegetable juices into the dough to add colour, enabling them to create flowers, birds and other figures – a custom that has lasted to the present day.

A representative heir to the craft of Heze Dough Figurines, Mu Xujian expressed a keen passion for the art of dough sculpting at an early age. Having inherited the skills necessary to produce dough figurines from his forebears, Mu constantly develops and innovates upon this tradition to produce works imbued with rich folk culture and embracing diverse themes.

Zhao Zhi

REDWOOD SILVER INLAY
04 ~ 23 / 10
2011

The redwood silver inlay of Weifang employs redwood, pure gold wire, silver wire and natural lacquer as raw materials. It then benefits from skilled carving and mounting techniques. This silver inlay utilises a wide variety of patterns to create over 100 types of products from furniture to decorative crafts pieces. Characteristic of a unique folk culture and emblematic of its origin, redwood silver inlay is immensely practical and valuable and is especially prized by collectors. The art has been inscribed on the China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Zhao Zhi has been engaged in the art of sliver inlay for nearly ten years. After undergoing a rigourous apprenticeship, Zhao distinguished herself as a supreme master of this art and remains a constant and creative innovator to this day.

Luan Shujuan

YANTAI PAPER CUTTING
04 ~ 23 / 10
2011

Yantai paper cutting is also known as chuanghua (literally ‘window decoration’) in Chinese. Yantai paper cutting techniques form minuscule, thin-lined patterns that depict auspicious motifs. The images represent people’s desire for a good life and reflect the simple and humble nature of rural life in the North.

Luan Shujuan demonstrated a keen interest in paper cutting at an early age. Under the zealous guidance of her grandmother, she mastered the art’s techniques, becoming a representative artisan of the Dongfeng School. Devoted to the promotion and success of paper cutting, Luan has received wide acclaim from specialists both at home and abroad, and her works have won several important national awards.

Yao Ziming

GOLDSTONE INK SLABS
25 / 10 ~ 13 / 11
2011

Originating in Fei County, goldstone is a rare and precious material, which sparkles due to its inclusions of pyrite crystals. Ink slabs made of goldstone are like a night sky bedecked with stars. The production of goldstone ink slabs involves shaping the stone, using various carving techniques, into patterns featuring primarily landscapes and motifs from local legends and culture.

A Shandong folk artisan, Yao Ziming developed a keen interest in stone carving at a young age. In 1978, he studied at the Shandong Arts and Crafts Institute, creating many distinguished goldstone ink slab works. Having inherited the traditional techniques, Yao began pursuing a modern interpretation, earning him the title ‘Artisan of Chinese Tradition’ in 2010 from the committee of the China Traditional Cultural Promotion Project.

Zhou Shengnan

ZIBO CERAMIC ARTS
25 / 10 ~ 13 / 11
2011

Founded on a long and distinguished tradition, Shandong’s Zibo Ceramic Arts have relied on modern scientific technology to rediscover several precious glaze recipes once considered lost and to solve the problems associated with adding colour to goldenblack glaze. In doing so, this revival has given rise to an array of influential ceramic arts employing the new ‘gold-and-red crystal glaze’, ‘chicken-red glaze’ and ‘goldstone glaze’ along with several dozen variants of black glaze, the reputation of which reverberates throughout the country.

A Shandong ceramic arts master and a visiting professor at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Zhou Shengnan has won Gold Prizes in the Shandong Ceramic Arts Competition and Distinguished Prizes in the 7^th and 8^th National Ceramics Competition. His works, which are extensively collected, primarily focus on flower glaze and sculptural techniques.