From April till June 2021 I was invited to show my mosaic works at the Porcelain Studio “Caicifang”. The porcelain studio and shop Caicifang is located in one the old alleyways in the touristy area just south of Tiananmen Square. Whenever I cycled to or from my home to the porcelain studio I passed that gigantic Square with Mao’s portrait hanging on the wall to the forbidden city in the north.

I was introduced the the studio by my friends Sanny Wroblewski in May 2019 on a stroll through this area. Back then it was mainly a shop that sold souvenirs made with ancient porcelain shards set in sliver or wood. That afternoon we met SuNan the porcelain conservation specialist who is running the visitor service and workshop that the project acquired in the house just opposite. He and his team are creating a very special atmosphere in the old Hutong space – guiding every visitor through the exhibition of ancient porcelain vessels, beautifully kintsugi restored porcelain bowls, old maps, opera costumes and embroidery and guest exhibitions like my mosaics or other local crafts.

Visitors can also subscribe to a workshop on kintsugi (the art to repair porcelain with a glue from the Chinese lacquer ) or printing patterns from stones onto Chinese paper  or making little artefacts using ancient porcelain shards and with this learning about Chinese porcelain. The emphasis of this space is on learning and appreciation of the old craft of porcelain making rather than selling. I learned the art of kintsugi (porcelain mending) at Caicifang and mended a broken wedding present

In this ambition to educate through crafting we met because my mosaic workshops too are intended to educate participants about the ancient craft of mosaic.

At the opening of the mosaic exhibition on April 10 2021 where I could show all my own works and my small collection of works made by other mosaics artists – I held a talk about mosaic history, materials and tools and gave 2 workshops using the shards from the collection of Caicifang.

The talk about mosaic history was very well attended by over 50 people. And the workshops sold out very fast. I was impressed by the interest and eagerness of the Chinese clients of Caicifang to learn about mosaic – a craft that is not known in China traditionally.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of Caicifang workshop so much that even after my own exhibition closed on June 22, 2021 together with my assistant Liu Liu I gave a monthly “Pique Assiette” workshop connecting Chinese Material and European Craft.

Read on in the article “Pique Assiette”.

From this very fruitful cultural exchange sprang an initiative by the Caicifang Team: they let their visitors spontaneously attach porcelain tesserae onto a large canvas. A wonderful abstract mosaic evolved.