Contemporary Chinese Studio Crafts

Featuring specially commissioned new photography, this book showcases a selection of exquisite and innovative examples of contemporary Chinese studio crafts―creations in lacquer, porcelain, jade, glass, stoneware, stainless steel, bamboo, paper, wood, silver, and enamel. Many of the works embody traditional skills and elements, but artists are here seen to push the boundaries in design, materials, technique, and artistic expression.

Prefatory chapters, including practitioner contributions, provide a comprehensive introduction to the development and identity of studio craft in China, from its cultural heritage, through the transformative wave of Western modernism in the 1980s, to today’s thriving contemporary art scene and the place of Internet influencers within it.

Xiaoxin Li is curator in the Asia department at the V&A.