Two preconditions must exist for an art to flourish. There must be artists (creating the art) and a consumer (a market). Now is a perfectly opportune time to revive Chinese lacquerware. However, are there enough artists; is the market big enough?
In Fujian Pavilion, a part of the China Pavilion in Shanghai EXPO, there is a pair of gold drawing lacquer vases, 3.6 meters high and patterned with dignified peony flowers. These two vases are light enough that a strong male could lift them. As introduced by Chen Biyu, vice director of Economy and Trade Committee of Fuzhou, it took five years to make this pair of vases, and involved over 100 procedures. The two vases’ value exceeds two million RMB. These two vases are made by a Chinese traditional art craft technique—bodiless lacquer. The vases along with a modern lacquer painting of ancient Fuzhou community do not merely imitate traditional lacquerwares, they have reached a new level altogether.
“Chinese lacquerwares must break through, or it will perish.” said the painter of the modern lacquer painting, Tang Zhiyu.
Fuzhou Lacquerwares, Once Sparkling and Splendid
Modern Chinese lacquerwares are mainly produced in Beijing, Jiangsu, Yangzhou, Shanghai, Chongqing, Fujian, and Pingyao. Technically they are classified into categories as inlaid, carved or glassed lacquer. The distinguishing feature of Fujin lacquerwares is its lack of body.
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