Rice sculptures were popular in Wenzhou City during the years of the Qing Dynasty. They originally played a role on occasions such as birthdays, marriages and dinners celebrating the first month of a newborn baby but later emerged as a cherished form of handicraft. Glutinous rice and rice are ground into powder, coloured and steamed. The resulting product is then fashioned into human figures, dragons, phoenixes, flowers, birds and beasts by rubbing, kneading, pinching and carving. The final figures are vivid and lifelike.

Wang Jinrong - one of the artists who perpetuates the tradition of Wenzhou Rice Sculpture – has earned an enviable reputation. He combines the traditional folk craft and art to create works such as the 36 Folk Figures and Jiangnan, which won him gold awards in various China folk art exhibitions. His Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner of Wenzhou People features artistic delicacies that won him the Silver Award at the China Extraordinary Folk Art Competition 2004.

CLAY SCULPTURE
27/11 ~ 09/12
2007

Clay sculpture is a popular folk art in China. Traditional clay sculpture artists favour stable and substantial works, while that of the Shengzhou of Zhejiang Province, which emerged in the 1970s, incorporates the best of various schools to form a style of its own. Exquisite and small in size, Shengzhou clay sculpture excels in the usage of subdued colour and harmonious shapes. It is usually themed on dramatic characters or fairytales, with both stand-alone and collective works.

Mi Fengguang is an artistic maestro from Zhejiang Province and founder of Zhejiang Clay Figures, one of the three major schools of clay sculpture in China, and a fitting representative of the clay sculpture of Shengzhou. His works are primarily based on people’s lives, reflecting their customs and characters with exaggerated expressionistic flair. His representative works include the much-acclaimed Multitude of Facial Masks of Chinese Operas and Thousand Chinese Facial Masks.

BOXWOOD CARVING
11~23/12
2007

Yueqing boxwood carving - one of the three famous woodcarving arts of Zhejiang Province - is also known as the ‘Blossom of Eastern China’. Since the Yuan Dynasty, artists have carved the precious boxwood on a variety of subjects. Their works were exquisite and elegant, employing a small circular cubic carving art. In recent years, innovative techniques have emerged such as boxwood root carving, and split and bonding carving, which have further enriched the artistic patterns of boxwood carving.

Gao Min, Deputy Director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Centre of the Cultural Museum of Yueqing City and the Standing Director of the Zhejiang Root Artists Association, has worked in woodcarving for over 20 years. His works combine modern carving techniques and traditional boxwood carving skills, winning him numerous young artist’s prizes in Zhejiang Province; he has also undertaken numerous performances abroad.

YUEQING FINE-STREAK CARVING
11~23/12
2007

Yueqing Exquisite Paper Craft has been practised for over 700 years. The substitution of cutting with carving produces art praised as ‘miniature paper sculptures’ and ‘one of the best arts of China’. This exquisite paper craft requires very advanced skills, and the sculpting must be precise. The finished works feature carved lines as fine as threads, which are very sharp and link each other perfectly. This art is much admired.

Jin Qianmei has devoted herself to paper crafts for more than two decades. She is now a leading artist of the Chinese Paper Cutting Art Association, and is constantly invited to present her exquisite crafts in many places. In 2007, her work Beautiful Green won the Mountain Flower Award – Top Prize of Chinese Folk Arts
and Crafts at the Chinese Paper Cutting Art Expo.

BAMBOO ROOT CARVING
25/12 ~ 06/01
2007        2008

Bamboo root carving is one of the mainstays of Chinese root art. Based on traditional bamboo root carving, Xiangshan bamboo root carving makes use of the roots of bamboo over four years old and follows the original shape of the roots. The sculpture is a combination of woodcarving and stone carving techniques. The works are finished via mothproofing, anti-cracking and anti-mold treatment. Xiangshan Bamboo Root Carving is one of the New Carving Arts of Zhejiang, while Xianshan is known as the Home of Chinese Folk Art (Bamboo Root Carving).

Cai Haichu is a member of the Chinese Root Artists Association and Root Artists Association of Zhejiang Province. Characteristic works such as Leaving Home in One’s Early Age and Old But Not Aged have grabbed people’s attention by winning Gold Awards at the 6^th Hangzhou (International) Folk Arts and Crafts Exhibition and the Zhejiang Root Artworks Exhibition in 2006.

TREE-ROOT CARVING
25/12 ~ 06/01
2007        2008

Tree-root carving follows the natural shape of the root to produce works of great realism. Based on the original shape of the root, the fashioning includes carving or trimming so that an artistic form emerges without losing the unique shape of the root. Natural and simple, root carving is both vivid and ingenious.

Liu Xiaoping has been honoured as one of the “Ten Best Folk Artisans of China” and “Art Maestro of Hangzhou City”. His use of flat materials made him the founder of the compressive technique. His works have won special awards in the 6th China Exhibition of Fine Works by Chinese Arts and Crafts Masters and World Artists as well as some 20 Gold and Silver Awards in different art expos.

CHANGXING ZISHA TEAPOT
08 ~ 20/01
2008

Changxing is the important production base of Zisha handicrafts in Zhejiang Province. Pottery has a long history in Changxing and used to be one of the major production bases of ceramic products for export from Zhejiang Province. Handmade Zisha teapots are made with Zisha pottery clay from Changxing. The shapes are simple but polished and the colours deep and pure.

Renowned teapot artist Jiang Ganqin was born into a family in Jiangsu well known for Zisha pottery; his elder sister Jiang Rong is the leading artistic exponent of Zisha pottery. Jiang Ganqin is a member of China National Arts and Crafts Society and the Chairman of Changxing Zisha Pottery Arts Society. He has produced over 100 types of various fine Zisha teapots and related works, the most outstanding of which include a tea set featuring dragons riding on clouds, lotus patterns, a teapot in the shape of a jade seal and Luyu’s teapot. His works have been collected by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China for display at the Hall of the Effulgent Pole-star (Ziguangge) of Zhongnanhai (a garden palace complex) and displayed at provincial and city museums.

WHEAT STRAW COLLAGE
08 ~ 20/01
2008

Wheat Straw Collage, also known as ‘Wheat Straw Picture’, is one of the traditional folk collage arts. Originating in the middle years of the Ming Dynasty, and developed into an individual craft throughout the Qing Dynasty, the collage requires quality wheat straws as its major component, which, after processing, are cut and pasted into patterns. The Wheat Straw Collage, usually patterned after traditional Chinese paintings, has layered shading and a realistic feel, and is rich in artistic value.

Zhang Genchai is the successor of the Wheat Straw Collage master Jiang Yunhua. He has engaged in the collage and major production of some acclaimed wheat straw collage works including the well-known One Hundred Pigeons; Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum; and Camellia, of which One Hundred Pigeons was bestowed the Tiangong Award of Intangible Cultural Heritage for its superlative craftsmanship in 2006. It is now stored in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum as part of its permanent collection.

QINGTIAN STONE CARVING
22/01 ~ 03/02
2008

Qingtian stone, mined in Qingtian in Zhejiang Province, is fine in texture and mild to the touch. Primarily comprised of cyan, it comes in bluish white, pale green or light yellow. The stone was originally used in seal carving. In the Qing Dynasty its use began to diversify and was highly favoured by the literati and gentlemen of note. Qingtian stone sculpture is usually designed based on the contour and colour of a stone, and is substantial and rich in the local features of Southern China.

An advocate of Qingtian stone sculpture for some thirty years, Zhang Aiguang is a renowned stone sculpture master in China. The title of Master of Folk Arts and Crafts was bestowed upon him by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and he was acclaimed an Arts and Crafts Master of Zhejiang Province. His works have garnered him some 20 awards both at home and in the international arena.

CHANGHUA CHICKEN BLOODSTONE CARVING
22/01 ~ 03/02
2008

The Changhua Chicken Bloodstone is so called because of its place of origin and the scarlet spots resembling chicken blood which can be seen in the stone. Top quality chicken bloodstone comes with a fine and smooth texture in bright scarlet, which is compact yet soft and mild to the touch. Its scarlet spots are bright, thick and condensed, widely appreciated and collected by the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasty, and mostly used for making seals. Defined by its rare scarlet spots, Changhua Chicken Bloodstone Sculpture requires greater ingenuity in design and craftsmanship than most other types of sculpture.

Qian Gaochao, Arts and Crafts Master of Zhejiang Province, has engaged in chicken bloodstone sculpture for three decades, sparing no effort in the propagation of Changhua Chicken Bloodstone sculpture, training more than 100 apprentices over the years. Various themes are evident in his works such as historical stories, people and customs, animals and insects. His works have won numerous worthy awards, and his Achievements of Qian King is now displayed in China’s Exhibition Hall of Arts and Crafts.

BOXWOOD CARVING
05 ~ 17/02
2008

One of the ‘three famous sculptures’ of Zhejiang Province, Yueqing boxwood sculpture is also known as the ‘Blossom of Eastern China’. Originating in the Yuan Dynasty, this precious boxwood was fashioned in a variety of subjects. It may be regarded as small three-dimensional sculpture. In recent years, innovative techniques such as boxwood root carving, split and bonding sculpture have emerged, further enriching the artistic patterns of boxwood carving.

Zheng Xuguang is currently a member of the Folk Artists Association of Zhejiang Province. Well versed not only in boxwood carving but in ivory and stone carving, Zheng has won many competitive awards with his works, including the Chinese Collectors’ Favourite Woodcarving Master 2006 bestowed by the industry’s elite.

OU SCULPTURE
05 ~ 17/02
2008

Ou sculpture is so-called because of its place of origin in the Oujiang basin in southern Zhejiang. Based on Chinese traditional layered-painting, Ou sculpture is a kind of relief sculpture, which in modern times has incorporated Western and Chinese painting techniques, maturing it in terms of structure, shading, spatial arrangement and expression. It is consequently known as Oriental stereoscopic oil painting or ‘colour relief’. Ou sculpture has evolved into an art genre with a flair for the times.

Zhang Hongji has engaged in Ou sculpture for more than a decade and participated in the making of large Ou-sculpture wall paintings for more than 50 state cultural emblems including the Chinese Scenery of West Lake now hanging in the Zhejiang Hall in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Zhang has also attended many large state, provincial and municipal art exhibitions in addition to winning numerous awards over many years.