300 pieces of ceramic art by staff and students on display

More than 300 pieces of ceramic art created by staff and students at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University are on display at an exhibition in the University’s Central Building.

The works of art have been created as part of a six-week pottery course offered by XJTLU’s Art Education Centre, which offered guidance on technique and theory as well as traditional Chinese pottery culture.

Industrial design student Zhiyuan Yu was inspired by the classic Chinese novel ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’. One of his pieces (pictured below) depicts the novel’s chief protagonist Jia Baoyu with his cousin Lin Diayu, with whom he has a special bond in the novel’s complex story.

"Shaping the clay by hand and painting the blue and white of the porclain is a nice way to relax and take your mind off your busy academic life,” he said.

Xian Xu, vice dean of Suzhou Soochow Painting Institute (pictured below), was invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the exhibition – the first of its kind to be held at the University.

He said he liked the creativity and aesthetics of the work on display. Speaking about one particular piece (pictured below), he said: "The composition is good, there is a large area of white while the shape of the fish is quite delicate.”

An English and Communication Studies student who attended the exhibition said: "Everyone’s work is really good. Personally, I liked the piece with the lotus flowers as it has a 3D effect.”

"The exhibition was held to show students' progress and achievements and to demonstrate the beauty of Chinese ceramic culture to the rest of the University,” said Yu Gong, a teacher in the Art Education Centre.

The exhibition will be held in the corridor outside of rooms G13 and G23 in the Central Building until the end of December.