Pushing boundaries

From the Sanbao International Ceramic Art Valley to the Jingdezhen Sculpture Factory, international artists come together in Jingdezhen to explore, collaborate and push artistic boundaries. These interactions contribute to the ever-increasing internationalization of this thousands-year-old porcelain capital.

Nick Vest, a 31-year-old artist from Pennsylvania in the United States, also feels a strong connection to Jingdezhen.

Aspiring to become a sculptor, Vest arrived in Jingdezhen in 2016 and planted the roots of his artistic career in the city. Over the years, he has held more than 25 ceramic exhibitions across nine different countries, with his most recent exhibition taking place at the Jingdezhen Sculpture Factory.

"I hope to spend more time in China, especially in Jingdezhen. The artistic atmosphere here is so vibrant, and the fusion of art and life is more pronounced," Vest said. "I have many friends at the sculpture factory, and we have established a studio called 'Menlo', which bears a distinctly Chinese name."

Vest and his fellow artists at the sculpture factory organize, curate and participate in various ceramic art exhibitions. They also invite ceramic artists and enthusiasts from around the world to embark on trips to Jingdezhen, where they engage in ceramic design, creation and exhibitions.

These international ceramic cultural exchanges not only enrich the artistic landscape of Jingdezhen Sculpture Factory but also infuse the traditionally symbolic Eastern sculptures with elements of realism from the West, elevating the overall artistic atmosphere of Jingdezhen, local media outlets quoted city officials as saying.

In 2019, Jingdezhen was approved as a national ceramic culture inheritance and innovation pilot zone. This has brought new opportunities, Hu Xuemei, mayor of Jingdezhen, said.

In Zhushan district where many Jingpiao reside, ceramic art labor unions have been established and as well as other institutions aimed at providing diverse activities and services to Jingpiao from both domestic and international backgrounds, enhancing their sense of belonging, Hu said.

Jingdezhen is not only seen as a place of inspiration for foreign ceramic artists, but it has also brought them new opportunities for commercialization.

Many foreign potters in Jingdezhen now rely on the internet to sell their artwork. In recent years, livestreaming has become a booming industry in the city.

According to the Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue, a giant ceramic art base in Jingdezhen, it had 6,000 merchants and 10,000 livestream hosts as of February. In 2021, it recorded sales of 3.06 billion yuan ($418.62 million).

An online flagship store for Jingdezhen porcelain has also been launched on Taobao, China's major e-commerce platform. The store aims to boost sales and expand the market by bringing together famous Jingdezhen ceramics brands, Hu said, adding that it will become the first choice for purchasing authentic Jingdezhen ceramics.

In terms of creating an international hub for ceramic cultural exchange and cooperation, Jingdezhen promotes Chinese culture and storytelling to the world, Hu said, referencing a video that went viral on TikTok last year, featuring a tiny vase with a diameter of 5 millimeters created by a ceramic artist based in Jingdezhen.

The video attracted more than 100 million viewers, and overseas netizens were amazed by the exquisite ceramic craftsmanship, calling it "China at your fingertips". It showcased the popularity of ceramic culture, Hu said.

"In the future, we will continue to create a more refined 'national trend' and 'nationalstyle' artworks to express international connectivity, utilizing China's lowercase 'china' ceramic culture to tell the captivating story of uppercase 'CHINA' to the world," said the mayor in an interview with The Paper.