Finnish know-how in glass can be seen in the areas of design, education and art and also in China. The interior glass wall of the Wuxi opera house, which opened in April 2012, is Finnish design. The White Box Museum of Art in Beijing, in 798 Art district, presents Finnish and Chinese glass art side by side in October 2012. The Chinese glass industry has invited Finnish glass artists to work in Chinese glass factories. The educational co-operation, which started in spring 2012, is continuing.
Finland has awoken interest in China as a glass country with a strong tradition and innovative approach in contemporary glass art and design. The president of the Glass art committee of Chinese Arts and Crafts Institute, Professor Dai Shufeng has launched the project by inviting Finnish glass artists to lecture, work and exhibit in China. The interest in Finnish glass art and design has created co-operation between Aalto University and Chinese universities. The lecture series started in spring 2012 in the Central Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) in Beijing, Shangdong University of Art and Design in Jinan, and the Luxun Academy of Fine Art in Dalian and will continue to the fall of 2012.
The economic growth of China has created an enormous need for a new construction industry. The aim is to find co-operation possibilities also among the Chinese glass industry and public building projects, where Finnish knowledge in glass and artistic insight could be made use of.
“The Spirit of the Material”-exhibition was opened by the ambassador of Finland on the 12th October 2012 in the White Box Museum of Art in Beijing (http://798whitebox.com/ ), which is located in the internationally well-known 798 Art District. The exhibition is a satellite event of Radical design week in Shanghai. RDW2012 is part of two major 2012 design events: Shanghai-D Week 2012 and World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. The project is funded by FRAME (Finnish Fund for Art Exchange), Arts Council of Finland, WDC foundation, Aalto University and the Glass art committee of Chinese Arts and Crafts Institute.
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The artists involved in the project
The exhibition is curated by professor Tapio Yli-Viikari from Aalto University. The invited Finnish artist and designers MA Kirsti Taiviola, MA Riikka Latva-Somppi, MA Renata Jakowleff and DA Outi Turpeinen present the most current glass art in Finland and a fresh perspective in the field of material based art internationally. All the invited Finnish artists lecture in Aalto University, Helsinki. The invited Chinese artists Dai Shu Feng, Hu Jinli, Li Wen, Tutoujueren (Li Xiaoqiang) and Wang Chaohong present the most leading glass art in China.
The show runs from the 12th of October to the 24th of October 2012.
Museum opening hours: 10:00-18:00, Tuesday-Sunday
Address: 798 Art District, No.2 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
Tel: +86-10-59784800
Fax: +86-10-59784801
Courtesy of the artists and White Box Museum of Art, for further information please visit www.798-art-district.com, www.798whitebox.com, www.spiritofmaterial.com or www.aalto.fi.
