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China’s New UCCA Clay Museum Showcases Ceramics Exhibition
By Camilla Alvarez-Chow
Aerial view of the UCCA Clay complex in Yixing, China. Courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.
On Saturday, October 19, the Beijing-headquartered UCCA Center for Contemporary Art will open UCCA Clay, a museum dedicated to the medium of ceramics, with the inaugural exhibition “The Ways of Clay.” The ceramics museum marks the fourth venue to join the UCCA’s roster of contemporary Chinese arts institutions and is the first in Yixing, a city two hours west of Shanghai.
Curated by UCCA director Philip Tinari, “The Ways of Clay” features 69 ceramic works by 65 artists from 17 countries that were selected by Japan’s Museum of Modern Ceramic Art for its International Ceramics Festival Mino. Unfolding in three chapters, the exhibition highlights the versatility and contemporary uses of Mino-ware, a type of high-fired clay mainly produced in Gifu Prefecture. Exhibited works include Japanese artist Ido Masanobu’s Hanahana (2005), which emulates plant growth through its floral forms, and Finnish artist Kati Tuominen-Niittylä’s minimalist circular design in Dish, White Moon (1998), among others. The exhibition’s three central themes are: “Seeds of Nature,” focusing on the organic shaping of natural forms; “Geometric Structure,” highlighting the geometric transformation of space; and “Garden of Meditation,” engaging with historical iconography and spirituality.
The nonprofit UCCA museum first opened in Beijing’s 798 Arts District in 2007, and has since expanded to having outposts in the northeastern coastal town of Beidaihe (UCCA Dune), Shanghai (UCCA Edge), and, with the opening of UCCA Clay, Yixing City. “The Ways of Clay” will be on view until February 23, 2025.
Camilla Alvarez-Chow is an editorial assistant at ArtAsiaPacific.
