Prosperity, by Caroline Yi Cheng
Art Macao is Macau’s most all-inclusive and large-scale art and culture event to date. Being so, it’s no surprise that there is a bit of everything for every viewer. From ancient to modern and contemporary, curating perspectives and pieces, the local government has invested greatly in showing residents and tourists what’s happening in the global art scene.
Sands Resorts Macao joins forces with Caroline Yi Cheng–owner and executive director of the Pottery Workshop–presenting a wide array of contemporary masterpieces, all ceramic-based in the “All That’s Gold Does Glitter – An Exhibition of Glamorous Ceramics” exhibition.
The featured image above is absolute proof that this showcase is of unmeasurable talent: “Prosperity” is a marvelous piece coming from the brilliant mind of the exhibition’s curator. This is a project that really stands out among the other glittering pieces. The series of Chinese dresses festooned with tens of thousands of intricate handmade porcelain butterflies sewn onto them is a sight to see. These glittering pieces shine brightly across Sands Resorts Macao and Cheng shares that these pieces are a culmination of her life experiences and skills, which took over 40 years to make.
Some artists make use of other materials to elevate their pieces into something more luxurious and beautiful and this is exactly what Cheng did. Gold was incorporated into the ceramics because the name of Sands Resorts Macao translates to “golden sand” in Chinese and this was her way of linking both the beautiful artworks and the resort. Additionally, gold is highly valued by many cultures and seen as precious which she hopes this exhibition will be seen as well.
* Caroline Yi Cheng. Photo credit: Sands Resorts Macao website
Luxurious ceramics
Cheng spent the last 10 months curating the “All That’s Gold Does Glitter – An Exhibition of Glamorous Ceramics” exhibition which features the works of 27 artists from all over the world including Cheng’s own masterpieces. “More than 90 ceramic masterpieces are displayed at The Venetian Macao; The Parisian Macao; Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip; Sands Macao; and the Macao Museum of Art”, Sands Resorts Macao acknowledges.
The exhibition features works from Caroline Yi Cheng, Vipoo Srivilasa, Jason Walker, Trudy Ellen Golley, Akio Takamori, Antonella Cimatti, Daniel Bare, David Gilhooly, Eliza Au, Po Ching Fang, Garth Johnson, Greg Daly, Hirotsune Tashima, En Iwamura, John Neely, Konstantin Bessmertny, Ljubica Jocic Knezevic, Makoto Komatsu, Michael Flynn, Paolo Polloniato, Peter Pincus, Prue Venables, Ryan Mitchell, Suzanne Wolfe, Tetsuya Ishiyama, Toby Buonagurio, Victor Spinski, Vinod Kumar Daroz, Shin Yu Wang and Hao Yu Wu.
Some pieces are simple with minimal detail while others have intricate elements and are well-ornamented. Ceramics form the core of the exhibition but other materials such as wood, concrete, luster, stoneware and Chinese ink are also used to make the artworks even more luxurious. Such is the case of Jason Walker’s Osprey (2018) and Wildflowers (2015) pieces. At first glance, the pieces look like modern works but after lengthy observation of “Osprey”, one realizes that only a true artist would be able to execute such fine detail in ceramics.
The same goes for several other works, such as those by Konstantin Bessmertny. The Russian-born artist, who has been living in Macau for decades now, is one of the most influential and most important contemporary artists currently in Macau. “L’Alchimia Universale” is a showcase of Chinese porcelain vases that are painted and forms a part of his Magnum Opus series about the spiritual complexities of the universe.
* L’Alchimia Universale (2019), by Konstantin Bessmertny
Named “Golden Wisdom”, Iwamura’s pieces relate to wisdom which the artist greatly values. This series of stoneware artworks was tailor-made for “All That’s Gold Does Glitter – An Exhibition of Glamorous Ceramics”. The “Golden Wisdom” series also has “Not Speaking” and “Not Listening” counterparts. The artist explains that the series was inspired by the old Analects of Confucius philosophy. Looking much like the three wise monkeys–three monkey figures embodying the proverbial principle “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”–these figures represent the maxims of “not seeing”, “not speaking” and “not listening”. These three pieces are definitely our top five for this showcase!
* Golden Wisdom: Not Seeing (2019), by En Iwamura
The genius behind the exhibition
Besides being the Executive Director of The Pottery Workshop and Yi Design, Caroline Yi Cheng is an internationally renowned ceramic artist, designer, and curator. She is the mastermind behind bringing all these pieces together to make this exhibition such a success. “The criteria is that the work has to be beautiful and technically highly skilled. I looked for a balance of men and women artists, and from all over the world”, she mentions. Her favorite piece from the whole exhibition is Ishiyama Tetsuya’s large Buddha, “Because it is visually a stunning sculpture and not an easy piece to make because it is so big”, she reasons.
Art Macao: All That’s Gold Does Glitter – An Exhibition of Glamorous Ceramics
When: From now till October 9, 2019
Where: The Venetian Macao, The Parisian Macao, Sands Macao & Four Seasons Hotel Macao
How much: Free admission
For more information on the curator, check her homepage, and to know more on the artists and displayed works, click here
Crespina #1 (2017), by Antonella Cimatti
