Curated by Li Rongwei, AN+ Art and Design Center’s latest exhibition has invited 19 artists and studios to explore the relationship between fire and three materials: metal, ceramics and glass. Titled “Blazing Element,” the exhibition aims to demonstrate the diversity of interpretations and emotional complexities that emerge from combining the three materials with fire.

The artists and studios are Bian Xiaodong, BUZAO, Jule Cats, Dai Ruiqi, Dongchang Studio, Du Meng, Hao Zhenhan, Hou Xiaohui, Huang Ji, Ryan LaBar, Theis Lorentzen, Liu Xi, Ren Hongfei, Wan Liya, Wang Hua, Wu Yiqi, Xu Rui, Xu Ziwei and YDMD Studio.

In the hands of the artists, different elements are reorganized. New forms continuously emerge from the combination of various materials, and the artists’ unique worldviews are embedded within them. If we say metal is made by smelting ore in fire, and ceramics is the magnificent transformation of earth bathed in fire, then glass is simply the poetic symbiosis of fire and crystal.

Bian has been experimenting with porcelain for years, resulting in a series of work that is based on a porcelain body as thin as eggshell. He uses top-quality kaolin clay from Jingdezhen mixed with the mineral feldspar to make petuntse, adds the mix onto silicon moulds, and lets it flow naturally with gravity. The inspiration comes from an incident where Bian fired the ceramic at a temperature that was too high and caused the ceramic to deform.

Artworks by Bian Xiaodong. File photos

Following intensive experiments, he mastered a unique way to morph the shape consciously in a high-temperature kiln. His series “Raindrops” explores the possibilities of the deformation of paper-thin porcelain. The “ceramic drips” formed by gravity are the artist’s expression of water in nature.

Dai graduated from University of the Arts London and the Royal College of Art. Her wine divider “Fountainia” was awarded A’Design Award’s bronze prize in 2018 and her works have been exhibited internationally and were described by High End Magazine as “using completely original, handmade luxury objects to blend the lines between functional design and sculptural art.” Dai hopes to explore the balance between sculptural form and functionality through making interactive and playful products that transform daily life gestures into ceremonial moments.

In Lorentzen’s “Remnant” series, the artist explores a variety of aspects of the beauty of clay and its transformation into ceramic material. The viscous nature of the glaze is used to accentuate the edges, pool in hollows and form drips. The work explores the qualities of the material and aims to expose and engage the viewer with the remnant components of clay: the cutoffs and discarded pieces that are often overlooked from other processes such as carving or slab building. “All qualities are important. I don’t see them as contradictions but as a question of finding the right balance,” said the artist, a graduate from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

LaBar fabricates individual and wheel-thrown elements. These, together with other clay parts, are carefully stacked on top of each other to compose a layered and woven structure. Each element counterbalances the position of another. These precarious constructs are placed in a kiln, and the heat of the kiln melts and moves the clay and glaze. The clay parts deform as the material softens. As the firing progresses, the movement quiets and the system of parts reach equilibrium and become a singular and rested whole.

The final composition reflects the motion and revealed tension of the integrated clay parts. Cool blue celadon bands twist around soft white porcelain rings as brown stoneware rods, once rigid, bend and weave their way throughout. The piece is a dynamic whole of singular elements.

Scan the mini app code to buy tickets.

Dates: Until Oct. 11

Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Tickets: 38 yuan (five entries per person)

Venue: AN+ Art and Design Center, 3/F, PAFC Mall, Futian District (福田區平安金融中心商場三樓安云藝術設計中心)

Metro: Line 1 or 3 to Shopping Park Station (購物公園站), Exit D