Porcelain Revival

Since graduation Li Xiaofeng has been pursuing his passion for porcelain. Early on, I had visited his studio in the artist village of Feijiacun where I found numerous crates of antique shards he had recovered from building sites around Beijing. Thus began my journey to understand more about China’s porcelain history, its sophisticated production techniques, and far-flung distribution around the world.

In recent years, Li has worked mainly from his studio in Jingdezhen – home of the imperial kilns – where he continues to examine and sort the shards, cut and grind, drill and sew, fashioning the Cheongsam, the Western jacket, a flashy two-piece dress. The favoured choice of colour is blue and white porcelain, but there have been outstanding colour combinations ranging across dynasties which tell the histories and influence of one of China’s most significant and treasured art forms.

If the intense labouring and sheer detail of his work is not enough to hold him high, Li has gone back and researched the actual technical practices of production to create a new series of stylish feminine figurines. For the last two years he has been sequestered in his Jingdezhen studio, removed from the ravages of the world, perfecting his colouring firing skills.

Porcelain Revival presents work from the last decade including Beijing Memory (2009), a few installation diversions, and culminates in the latest Break Free series.

Brian Wallace

Beijing, 2021