Status symbol
Artist combines tradition, innovation to convey cultural spirit
Zhu Legeng explores ceramics as art to convey the Chinese spirit. He has created and researched art for over 30 years and serves as the dean of the Chinese National Academy of Arts’ Literature and Art Creation Research Institute.
“As a representative figure of modern Chinese ceramics, Zhu is working on shifting ceramics from functionality to artistry and using artistic means to enhance practical qualities, so that ceramics’ usefulness and innovation will unify in new ways in the modern cultural context,” says Central Academy of Fine Arts’ dean Fan Di’an.
Zhu was born in Jiangxi province’s Jingdezhen, a city known as “the capital of ceramics”, in 1952.
His father was a ceramicist and inspired Zhu’s interest in the medium when he was a boy.
Zhu studied at the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute, where he taught after earning a master’s degree. He continued researching traditional ceramics’ craftsmanship, history and culture.
He points out pottery and agriculture went hand in hand in ancient China.
“Many Chinese ceramics were products of agricultural civilization. Farmers used to make ceramics in addition to doing farm work. They sold or traded their wares. This tradition advanced Chinese ceramics’ development.”
He often employs oxen as a motif, since the animals were integral to agriculture.
“In the earlier years, I used oxen in my ceramics and traditional-style paintings to portray idyllic lives,” Zhu says.
His observations of industrialization’s consequences, especially pollution, compelled him to reflect more deeply on the ox. He began to feel nostalgic about ancient China’s agricultural society, which spanned millennia, as a way of living that harmonized humans and nature.
His sculpture series, The Chinese Ox, portrays the animal with its head slightly bowed and its horns protruding upward.
The Nirvana sub-collection, in particular, showcases a white ox standing amid debris.
“I don’t confine my creations to a particular breed of oxen. In fact, it’s a symbol of their spirit. The white color and high horns embody the ox’s tenaciousness, nobility and diligence,” Zhu says.
“The ox holds a high status in Chinese culture and truly symbolizes Chinese values — uncomplaining, diligent and committed.”
His most recent creation, The Auspicious Ox, is dedicated to the Year of the Ox, which arrived with the Lunar New Year celebrations earlier this month.
The porcelain sculpture uses the blue-glaze technique from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and represents his hopes for a prosperous year.
“Zhu has reached a new zenith by using traditional techniques,” Fan says.
“More importantly, he has deftly turned his refined skills into a language for expressing his cultural sensibilities, which makes him stand out in Chinese ceramics through groundbreaking creativity.”
Zhu also explores ceramics as public art to discover innovations and promote traditional Chinese culture through international projects.
His largest-scale project is The Light of Life, which he completed in 2002 for the concert hall of the Milal Fine Art Museum in South Korea.
He cooperated with architects and sound engineers to design a porcelain acoustics board.
“I’ve created quite a few publicart projects, including some in foreign countries, because I also want to promote Chinese art and culture,” Zhu says.
“My public art projects aim to combine traditional crafts and culture with innovative expression to infuse the spirit of modern art.”
The ox holds a high status in Chinese culture and truly symbolizes Chinese values — uncomplaining, diligent and committed.”
Zhu Legeng, ceramicist