Artist shapes ceramic celebration of One World, One Dream

By Zhang Xiaomin and Wang Xing (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-05 10:35

He also tried to mix new glazes and in order to make them unique, he even added some dynamite into the mix. The result was just what you'd expect - the kiln blew up. But another result was a surprise: He made a new kind of variegated glaze.

Xing was once a millionaire who planted and sold kaffir lily. However, collecting and producing pottery cost him all he had except for one sheepskin quilt and an army coat. His wife thought he was mad and divorced him. Yet, he kept pursuing his pottery dream with his friends' help.

Xing is most famous for his skills in glazing and forming clay. His pottery works mainly fall into three categories: tea-bowls, multi-layer center-rolling spheres and deformed human bodies.

The Palace Museum bought 11 items from his exhibits, the first contemporary pottery works the museum had acquired since 1894. In 2000, it took another 15 items.

In 2000, Xing's pottery works were also exhibited at the Nakatsu Garden in the Japanese city of Kagawa. Despite the city government's offer to buy 150 items, Xing donated them all to the city's art gallery.

At his first exhibition in Japan, some local critics cast doubt on the collection, saying such exquisite shapes could not have come from clay.

On hearing this, Xing casually let one item drop to the ground. "Let them take back the pieces and see whether it is made of clay or not," he said.

Xing has never been one to shy away from controversy. He is well known for his strong personality, never caring what others say or think about his work.

Humility is not his strong suit. "I've made more inventions on silicate than many experts in this field. Therefore, I should win the Nobel Prize in chemistry with my inventions," he says.

(China Daily 08/05/2008 page19)

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