Sculpture

Gao Zhenyu is born to a renown potter's family in Yixing, the producion hub of the famous zisha (purple clay) wares. To make this piece, the artist first created a spherical vessel with a small opening, then blew into it to inflate the vessel into a fuller sphere, the same technique used for producing traditional zisha teapot. The piece was then left to explode due to the internal pressure from blowing and the external scraping forces. The explosion produced a crack much larger than the original opening, and all traces of clay work such as crinkles, folds, and cracks were retained. The object was fired unglazed, with a glaze-like effect resulting from the natural fall of wood ashes inside the kiln during the firing process. In contrast to traditional zisha wares, which celebrate perfection and the potter’s absolute control over the material, Gao’s contemporary pieces explore the dynamic relationship between the potter and the clay.