TSAI Hsiao-fang 蔡晓芳 Chinese (Taiwan), b. 1938
10 1/4 x 15 x 15 in
Rare masterpiece in big shoulder vase
Unique innovative purple clouds
Further images
Colorfully glazed ceramics representative of the imperial kilns of various famous dynasties of China, Tsai blends the elegant rhythms of classical porcelain with a bright modern style eloquently and consequently has been dubbed the "master of today's imperial kilns."
Tsai is best known for his proficiency in the use of celadon--a smooth, limpid, understated glaze developed and perfected by Song Dynasty potters （960 - 1279）.
This graceful and noble blue is like the summer sky in the morning just after a rain, is highly appreciated from the emperor Hui-zong of Song.
The smoky purple clouds appears smoothly on the top, and gives this antique style vase complete a contemporary face.
Yet only by having precise proportions, angles, curves, thickness of clay body, and even weight can reach the perfect balance between shape and glazing. Through innumerable experiments and corrections, Tsai has made a great deal of celadon works.
Provenance
Celadon ware is also known simply as Song ware.It is made by exposing glaze with small amounts of oxidized iron to a reducing flame at high temperatures.
One achieves the different colors of powder blue, gray-green, fish-egg green, and blue and white by adjusting the materials and processes.
Furthermore, the surfaces are always covered with crackle, "palm eyes" (small pits), or bubbles.
Moreover, the thinning glaze is thin and pink.
Or the rim may reveal a darker grayish purple tint, and the foot rim might even show the black bisque underneath the glaze-giving the ceramics their distinctive "purple mouth and black feet."
This smoothly textured porcelain, possessing all the beauty of antique jade, abounds with the understated aesthetic sensibility of the Song dynasty.
Exhibitions
July-August: "Timeless", group exhibition, Art Thema HéYī gallery, Brussels, BelgiumLiterature
"Exquisitely styled, accurately colored, classically elegant":
That is how master calligrapher Chang Ta-chien described Tsai's work.
Publications
Tsai has a special love for Song-dynasty ceramics: "Song ceramics have a noble, graceful character that demonstrate the transcendent aura of ceramics without the slightest impurities. They convey the essence of Chinese culture."
- Publication on "Taiwan Panorama" Magazine, 2005
Subscription
Get access to our new collections, exhibitions, VIP events, fair passes, seasonal sales, etc...
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.