Celadon | Between Tradition and Modernity

Celadon | Between Tradition and Modernity

curated by Annette Mertens

OPENING    August 8th 6 – 9pm
SHOW          August 9th – 31st 2025

open on Sat/Su 4 – 6pm and by appointment

Celadon

The deep green-blue landscapes of Zhejiang in southwest China, and the flawless craftsmanship with which the local ceramists transfer the palette of light and colour of their surroundings into celadon porcelain, are deeply fascinating.
Celadon glazes are about multi-layered deep green to matt yellow or clear and bright-looking violet tones in blue to pale purple/pink, as well as cool shimmering to softly smooth surfaces. It is reminiscent of noble jade stone or the clear sky. These are the first impressions when looking at celadon. Because of their strikingly beautiful glaze, celadons were named after their colours in China, Korea and Japan and also in Europe. In Chinese texts, for example, one finds the term qingci, ‘blue-green porcelain’. More often, however, historical poetic descriptions of the colours are used to describe celadons, such as yuguo tianqing, ‘ware in the colour of the clear sky after rain’.
My first experiences with celadon was the beginning of a long exploration for me as well as lasting friendship with the celadon masters and artists of Longquan. The exhibition shows artists of the young generation and their work between tradtion and modernity. This small exhibition also emphasises the close relation between Celadon and the art of drinking tea.

In 2018, Anette Mertens (ceramist, sinologist and social anthropologist) traveled to Longquan with her son and filmmaker Marius Mertens and photographer Franca Wohlt for the exhibition “Seladon in Focus – Jade-like Porcelain and its Masters in Longquan, China” which she and Mareile Flitsch, director of the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich, conceived in close cooperation. The resulting documentary videos and photographs accompany this exhibition.

A 360-degree view of the exhibition “Seladon in Focus” can be accessed via this link:
https://www.reich-der-bilder.de/360/seladon

For further information on the exhibition contact: mail@china-at-work.de

The participating artists are:
Jiang Feiyi, 蒋斐奕
Chen Guo 陈 果
Chen Hua 陈华
Chen Shaoqing 陈少青
Chen Xiaobo 陈小波
Chen Xituo, 陈希托
Liu Jie 刘杰
Liu Shangqing 刘尚青
Liu Xiaolong 刘小龙
Mao Junqin 毛俊钦
Mao Weijie 毛伟杰
Wang Yi, 王艺
Xu Junjie 徐俊杰
Ye Mingdi 叶明弟
Zhou Xin 周鑫
Zeng Wenlong 曾温龙