Glass art gets a crack at being included in school programs nationwide

Although glass objects have been made and used in China since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), glass as a creative medium was not included in the education system of fine art until 2000, when the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, established its Glass Art Program.

Since then, glass programs and studios have been introduced to nearly 30 art schools nationwide. An exhibition at Liuli China Museum in Shanghai, from Nov 12 to late February, reflects the development of glass art in the country, featuring 33 works by Professor Guan Donghai, along with eight artists who are graduates or instructors of the glass art program at Tsinghua University.

Glass is a versatile material capable of infinite expression, says Li Fubiao, one of the exhibition's featured artists, director of the Glass Art Studio at Shanghai Art & Design Academy, and a 2004 graduate of Tsinghua's glass program.

"This exhibition displays the unique aesthetic characteristics of glass: it can be transparent, translucent, or opaque, and three-dimensional or flat, like a painting; it can also be combined with calligraphy, and installations can be made with it," Li said at the opening. His work on display, Han Shan, was created with inscription, relief, and fusing, and presents Chinese characters that appear as if written on rippling water.

"I have been practicing calligraphy for more than 10 years. I also love ancient Chinese music played on the guqin (a plucked seven-string instrument)," he told the media. It was not the content of the text that he wanted to convey in the artwork, but rather, "I tried to catch hold of the rhythm in calligraphy similar to traditional Chinese music", according to Li.

Artist Liu Yu, a doctoral candidate at Tsinghua University under the supervision of Guan, is presenting a series of glass objects inspired by traditional Chinese mascots, such as a money tree, a double-fish bottle and auspicious beasts, in the exhibition. "I always thought folk art was somewhat underestimated in the history of art," Liu says. "We always pay attention to highbrow art and consider folk art vulgar, its colors flashy, and meanings simple and straightforward.

"But I believe folk art is the most vibrant, as it conveys the deepest wishes of people from the bottom of their hearts. They express sincere emotions and need no symbolic reinforcement of any kind."

Guan says in a written message, "From the very beginning, the glass art program at Tsinghua was generally supported by Chang Yi and Loretta Hui-shan Yang, founders and artists of Liuligongfang, as well as the entire Liuligongfang team. My memories of working together are vivid and unforgettable".

Liuligongfang is the first modern glass art studio in China, established in 1987, followed by the opening of Liuli China Museum in 2006.

Yang says at the opening of the exhibition: "We believe that handcrafted arts must be passed down. Liuli (the Chinese word for colored glass) art demands tremendous resources and commitment. It is remarkable to witness a new generation of glass artists innovate while inheriting tradition, honoring liuli's history while discovering new paths."

"The development of glass art in China still has a long road ahead, and much remains to be done," Guan says. "This exhibition is another wonderful opportunity for us to explore the future of Chinese glass art together."