Second Chances: Ceramic Arts of China, Norway

Second Chances: Ceramic Arts of China, Norway, Denmark and Canada opened at the Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall in Shanghai, China on December 5, 2017. The exhibition was co-sponsored by the Shanghai Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall, Shanghai Pudong Culture Media Co. Ltd., and undertaken by Art Pudong (Shanghai) Artwork Co. Ltd., with support from the Shanghai International Cultural Exchange Association (SICA). It was also supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Norwegian Royal Consulate General, Shanghai; the Norwegian Craft Association; the Government of Bergen, Norway; the Shanghai Free Trade Zone Cultural Investment Development Co. Ltd.; and the Jingdezhen Ceramic University. Zhang Ting (China) and Bjørn Inge Follevaag (Norway) were the curators.

The exhibition specially invited Chen Xiaodan from China, Heidi Bjørgan from Norway, Krestine Harboe from Denmark and Linda Sormin from Canada. Through their individual perspectives, each investigated the medium of ceramic as cultural heritage, art medium, and hand craft passed down through the generations, supported by the traditional aesthetic concept of artifact and Tao, while upholding the sustainable development of its physical properties and its conception throughout history and the contemporary era. Meanwhile, under ecological pressure, the exhibition aims to trigger a discussion of how artists perform both similar and different thematic practices in the same medium under the historical and cultural influences of their different regions.

The exhibition was held in the memorial hall of famous Shanghai artist Mr. Wu Changshuo, a mansion that combined classical and modern literati elements, located on the edge of the green area of Lujiazui in Shanghai.