China National Arts Fund(CNAF) Project Promotes a New Landscape of Ceramic Art and Landscape Culture in Guilin, China
On the morning of April 19, 2025, the “Chinese Color Glaze Ceramic Art Tour Exhibition (Guilin, China中国桂林)”, a Communication and Promotion Project funded by the China National Arts Fund (CNAF) 2025, was grandly inaugurated at the Guilin Art Museum. Supported by the National Arts Fund and the China Arts and Crafts Society, and jointly organized by Beijing City University (BCU) and the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum, the Guilin Station marks the first stop of the nationwide tour. The exhibition brings together the most representative academic resources and artistic achievements in the field of Chinese color glaze ceramic art.
As an important part of Chinese outstanding traditional culture, ceramic art not only embodies national spirit and aesthetic ideals but also carries immense potential for urban cultural development. The aesthetic charm and innovative expression of color glaze ceramics reflect both the profound heritage of Chinese arts and crafts and the value orientation of cultural development in the new era. The opening of the exhibition in Guilin signifies a deep integration of traditional art with the city’s unique landscape culture, contributing to Guilin’s endeavor to build itself into a world-class tourist city. It is hoped that the exhibition will serve as a catalyst to further enhance cultural exchange and collaboration between Guilin and art institutions across the country, and to invigorate traditional culture with new vitality in our times.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Qiu Liping邱丽萍, Party Secretary of Guilin Art Museum. Experts, scholars, artists, curators, and practitioners from institutions including the Chinese Arts and Crafts Society, Guangxi Arts and Crafts Competition, Guangxi Normal University(CNU), Guilin University of Electronic Technology(GUET), Guangxi Vocational lnstitute of Technology(GVIT), Guilin University of Technology(GUT), and Guilin Tourism University(GTU) attended the event to witness the opening of the exhibition.
Li Bing（李冰）,the project leader and Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology at the School of Cultural Heritage,Beijing City University, was interviewed by the media.
Academic Power Illuminates the Aesthetic Depth and Cultural Warmth of Color Glaze Ceramics
Li Bing李冰, Professor at the Department of Cultural Heritage of Beijing City University and director of the project, emphasized in her speech that color glaze ceramics, as a highly integrated form of craft and aesthetics within the ceramic arts system, exemplify the craftsmanship and philosophy of color in Chinese tradition, rooted in the elemental dialogue between fire and earth. This touring exhibition features over 80 exquisite works from more than ten prestigious art institutions such as the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Jingdezhen Ceramic University. The works span a range of forms including ceramic panels, sculptures, installations, and vessels. Organized into three sections—“Inheriting the Classics,” “Crafted Imagination,” and “Cross-Boundary Fusion”—the exhibition systematically traces the evolution of color glaze ceramics from traditional forms to contemporary expressions, highlighting their unique value in technique, artistic language, and cross-media exploration.
Professor Chen Qiurong陈秋荣, academic chair of the tour, noted that the Guilin opening holds significant symbolic value. The resonance between the natural aesthetics of the Li River landscape and the transformative glaze effects of kiln firing creates an immersive dialogue between color glaze art and the public, setting a cultural and aesthetic tone for future tour stops.
Using Color Glaze as a Medium to Bridge Traditional Art and Contemporary Spirit
Xu Dong徐栋, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Arts and Crafts Society, remarked that this exhibition not only showcases the technical and aesthetic pursuits of leading color glaze ceramic artists across China but also exemplifies the transition from “inheriting and innovating” to “innovating through inheritance.” The exhibition is both a grand artistic event and a profound dialogue between beauty and craftsmanship.
Advancing Education: Revitalizing Traditional Craft in Contemporary Urban Expression
Tian Peiyuan（田培源）, Executive Vice President of Beijing City University, delivered a speech.
Tian Peiyuan田培源, Executive Vice President of Beijing City University, stated in his speech that as a primary organizer of the exhibition, the university upholds its mission of “serving the city and serving the industry,” actively integrating traditional Chinese culture into higher education through systematic and multidimensional transformations. In recent years, the university has leveraged its Department of Cultural Heritage to explore collaborative education models integrating intangible cultural heritage, ceramic culture, and design innovation. It has built a triadic platform for teaching, research, and social service in the arts. This exhibition represents a vital practice of integrating aesthetic education into the cultural ecology of the city and realizing the concept of “holistic aesthetic education.”
Promoting Development through Exchange: Telling China’s Cultural Stories through the Harmony of Color Glaze and Landscape
Zheng Yi郑毅, Vice Chairman of the Guilin Municipal Committee of the CPPCC, emphasized in his address that Guilin’s beauty lies not only in its stunning natural scenery but also in its deep cultural heritage spanning over two millennia. From the Neolithic pottery at Zengpiyan, to the splendor of the Ming Dynasty blue-and-white plum vases in the Jingjiang Princes’ Mausoleum, to the enduring legacy of the Guizhou Kiln, Guilin has long been a witness to Chinese ceramic culture. Hosting the first stop of the color glaze ceramic exhibition in Guilin pays homage to the city’s “ceramic gene” and opens a new chapter in the narrative of “millennia of kiln fire” with contemporary innovation. Guilin will earnestly implement Xi Jinping’s cultural thought, align with the new cultural mission of the new era, and continue deepening cultural exchange and development, injecting cultural vitality into its journey toward becoming a world-class tourist city.
As a national-level cultural funding platform, the National Arts Fund has long been committed to promoting the creative transformation and dissemination of traditional culture. The successful launch of this project reflects the Fund’s close attention to the development of arts and crafts, particularly ceramic art, and is a strong embodiment of its mission to “educate through culture and nurture through beauty.” The project will continue its tour in various cities, accompanied by themed activities, bringing color glaze ceramic art into public spaces and contemporary life.
Guilin, a city with a long-standing history and profound cultural heritage, has always been a significant site where art and nature converge. The decision to hold the first stop of the exhibition in Guilin represents not only a dialogue between color glaze art and landscape culture, but also a symphony of hues and sentiments. The ethereal quality of Guilin’s karst landscapes echoes the unpredictable aesthetics of kiln-transformed glazes. Ceramic artists, through precise control of temperature and formula, capture the fleeting changes of fire and earth—an artistic process that mirrors the natural, unadorned beauty of Guilin’s mountains and rivers. The layered glaze colors resemble ink landscape scrolls, conveying deep reflections on nature and humanity. The arrival of this exhibition is in perfect harmony with Guilin’s current efforts to become a world-class tourism destination.
The Guilin Station of the exhibition will run until April 27，2025. During this period, a series of public education events and university student visits will be organized. The organizers hope that the exhibition will inspire the public to rediscover the cultural significance behind color glaze ceramics and encourage more young artists to engage in innovative practices within this magnificent tradition.
Exhibition Title: “Chinese Color Glaze Ceramic Art Exhibition Tour” (Guilin Station)
Exhibition Dates: April 16, 2025 – April 27, 2025
Venue: No. 2 Ziyou Road, Qixing District, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Editor : Fiona
