Wan Liya

In Wan Liya’s ceramic oeuvre, spanning several decades, China’s venerable culture is never far away. The recent Longshan series of taut colourful vessels relates to the incredibly modern feel of neolithic Longshan pottery, and earlier works like Thousands Miles of Mountains and Rivers replicate famous ancient paintings across long rows of porcelain cleaning bottles. The sculptures he made at EKWC seem to signal a radical break from previous series, until you learn that it is made in tribute to the Chinese painter Fan Kuan, one of the Three Landscape Masters of the Song Dynasty who was known for his straight-forward character and his strive to be one with nature. Indeed, Liya’s expressive, experimental pieces speak of elemental forces, of rapid movement, encirclement, evasion, heightened intensity versus temporary reast, all executed in stretches of clay that flow as brush strokes in 3D.