Chen Xiaodan / The Beautiful Life

“In 1983, I gained a place at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute. After I graduated in 1987 I went to Shanghai as a lecturer at Tongji University and to collaborate on a ceramic mural for the school. Ultimately this didn’t work out so I studied oil painting and received an MA for that. In the fall of 2001 I was invited to participate in some ceramic projects at the Shanghai University Fine Arts College. Since I hadn’t done any ceramic work for more than a decade, I felt uncomfortable with the process. I’d compare my whole experience to driving: you start off driving a manual, switch to an automatic, and then abruptly go back to a stick-shift.

“I feel that family background is quite an important element in cultivating culture. My mother’s family consists of academics that worked in the humanities: philosophy, psychology, art and history. I also worked in architecture for eight years, which influenced my work. After all, architecture integrates aesthetics with technical concerns. In fact, I had architecture in mind when I created one of my works, ‘Bloom – The Great Wall’.

“The Chinese ceramic tradition is so rich that it’s impossible to not be influenced by it. Just by creating ceramics you are paying homage to the tradition. Beauty is also a question of tension – ancient China was so beautiful but at the same time it was harsh, and it is the same today. History is long so we must go through it like the four seasons in order to experience pain and rebirth. The essence of Chinese culture remains beautiful of course, and I’d like the opportunity to learn more and hopefully harness some of that magic in my own work.

“I’ve worked in all forms so it hasn’t really been an evolution. I don’t necessarily follow ‘tradition’ but I like my works to have a visual impact and power, which I feel is what connects me to the historical tradition. I would describe my work as much more expressionistic.

“Creation is generally a long process and can’t easily be defined. My normal working process is usually in the six-month range, although some ideas have been percolating for 10 or 20 years. Creation itself is still hard work, of course, but the process can be quite pleasant and serene.”