Artisan's craft

Zou Chuan'an became an apprentice at a ceramic factory in his native Hunan province in 1957, where he continued to work for decades as a seasoned artisan. In his spare time, he taught himself the techniques of gongbi art, a long-standing genre in classical Chinese painting that uses accurate delimitation and vibrant colors. Zou gradually focused on the depiction of flowers and birds, a common gongbi category, and favored motifs also on porcelain. Like Flowers, Like Birds, an exhibition at Hunan Museum in Changsha, shows more than 300 works by Zou, presenting the elegant and animated world of his art. Zou's early paintings show his in-depth learning from works of master gongbi artists of ancient times, especially those serving at the Song Dynasty (960-1279) royal court. Zou infused the semi-abstract style of pocai (splashing colors) in his later works to render an extensive feeling, and introduced the contrast between light and darkness from Western art to add more dimensions to his paintings. In his recent works, Zou has used less saturated, grayish colors to present a more tranquil atmosphere. The exhibition runs until June 8.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays.50 Dongfeng Lu, Changsha, Hunan province. 0731-8441-5833/5933.

Single-hue porcelain

Monochromatic ceramics have been a top-line Chinese art since ancient times. They were collected, appreciated and hailed by royals, aristocrats and intellectuals to represent the high-end taste of art in ancient China. Hunan Museum houses a diverse collection of single-hue porcelain ware. The museum is showing selected examples of the category at a long-term exhibition. The varieties of colors and shapes celebrate the craft and wisdom of skilled artisans and sponsors who ordered the objects to ornament homes and royal palaces.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays.50 Dongfeng Lu, Changsha, Hunan province. 0731-8441-5833/5933.