On the morning of April 19th, the opening ceremony for the National Arts Fund's 2025 Communication and Promotion Project - "China's Floral Glaze Ceramic Art Exhibition Tour (Guilin Station)" was held at Guilin Art Museum.
Supported by the National Arts Fund and the China National Arts & Crafts Society, the exhibition is jointly organized by Beijing City University and the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum. As the inaugural stop of this nationwide tour, the Guilin station showcases the most representative academic resources and creative achievements in China's floral glaze ceramic art field.
The opening ceremony was honored by the presence of distinguished guests including leaders from the Guilin Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), representatives from the China National Arts & Crafts Society and Guangxi Arts & Crafts Association, as well as scholars and experts from multiple universities and research institutions such as Beijing City University, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guangxi Vocational and Technical College of Industry, Guilin University of Technology, and Guilin Tourism University. Artists, curators, and professionals from the ceramic industry also gathered at the event to witness the exhibition opening together.
The opening ceremony was presided over by Qiu Liping, Secretary of the Party Branch of Guilin Art Museum.
The exhibition's project director Li Bing, Director of the Cultural Heritage and Museology Teaching & Research Office at Beijing City University's Faculty of Cultural Heritage, presented an overview of the exhibition preparations.
Floral glaze ceramics, as a representative style embodying the perfect fusion of technique and aesthetics in ceramic art, epitomize the traditional Chinese craftsmanship wisdom of "fire and clay" and Eastern color philosophy. This touring exhibition features over 80 exquisite floral glaze works from more than ten prestigious Chinese art institutions including the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Jingdezhen Ceramic University. The collection spans various forms such as porcelain panel paintings, sculptures, installations, and functional wares.
Organized into three thematic sections—"Heritage of Classics," "Ingenious Craftsmanship," and "Boundary Fusion"—the exhibition systematically traces the evolution of floral glaze ceramics from traditional forms to contemporary expressions, highlighting its unique value in technical mastery, artistic language, and cross-media experimentation. Professor Chen Qiurong, Director of our university's Faculty of Cultural Heritage and academic chair of the exhibition, emphasized the symbolic significance of the Guilin premiere. He noted that the natural aesthetic resonance between the Li River landscape and the kiln-transformed glazes facilitates an immersive public dialogue with floral glaze art amidst mountains and waters, while also establishing cultural paradigms and aesthetic tones for subsequent tour locations.
Mr. Xu Dong, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China National Arts & Crafts Society, delivered a speech at the ceremony.
This touring exhibition not only showcases the technical exploration and aesthetic pursuits of China's outstanding floral glaze ceramic artists, but also vividly demonstrates the practical implementation of the philosophy "from innovative inheritance to inheriting innovation." The exhibition serves as both an artistic feast and a profound dialogue between "beauty" and "technique."
Executive Vice President Tian Peiyuan of Beijing City University delivered a speech at the event.
As the organizing institution of this touring exhibition, our university has consistently adhered to its educational orientation of "serving the city and serving industries," while deeply promoting the systematic integration and multidimensional transformation of outstanding traditional Chinese culture in higher education. In recent years, through its Faculty of Cultural Heritage, the university has actively explored collaborative education approaches integrating intangible cultural heritage techniques, ceramic culture, and design innovation, establishing a trinity art practice platform combining "teaching-research-social services." This touring exhibition represents a significant practical case of integrating university aesthetic education into urban cultural ecology and implementing the "comprehensive aesthetic education" concept.
Zheng Yi, Vice Chairman of the Guilin Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), delivered a speech and officially declared the exhibition open.
Professor Chen Qiurong, Academic Director of the exhibition, Director of the Faculty of Cultural Heritage at our university, and Executive Council Member of the China National Arts & Crafts Society, granted media interviews during the event.
Li Bing, Project Director of the exhibition and Director of the Cultural Heritage and Museology Teaching & Research Office at Beijing City University's Faculty of Cultural Heritage, gave an interview to the media.
Following the opening ceremony, the touring exhibition launched a series of public education activities and observation-exchange sessions for university faculty and students. The organizers aim to foster public re-examination of the cultural significance behind floral glaze ceramics, while inspiring more young artists to engage in innovative practices of this great tradition. The Guilin leg of the exhibition will run through April 27th.
