Masters showcase Shanghai-style jade carving
A jade carving exhibition has been launched in Hongkou District to showcase Shanghai-style jade sculptures from a dozen heritage masters.
The traditional local style jade carvings are among the four major jade sculpture schools in China, featuring simple, delicate, stylish and beautiful styles, according to organizers.
The exhibition will run through the end of March at the newly established Hundred Masters’ Workshop at 52 Duolun Road in Hongkou.
A dozen jade carving masters, aged between 34 and 48 years old, attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition at the workshop on Monday and met visitors. Each of them has brought their own masterpieces for the month-long exhibition.
Zheng Shengshuai, a heritage master of Shanghai-style jade and amber carving, exhibits his work on the "two ferocious gigantic guardians" in the ancient Chinese myth.
Apart from the exhibition, the masters will also give lectures to introduce traditional jade carving art and offer free jade evaluation services to visitors.
The Hundred Masters’ Workshop program was initiated in December 2018 to promote Chinese and overseas heritage skills among local citizens, as well as allowing artists to meet each other to create “trans-boundary” artwork, according to the workshop.
Sixteen masters have signed up to showcase their work and give lectures. The venue is open to the public for free between 9am and 7pm every day, and visitors can talk to the masters and learn some basic skills. Israeli silversmith Avinoam Israelov became the first artist to showcase his skills and work at a studio in December and January.
Following the jade exhibition, a Croatian urban sculptor is due to display his miniature sculptures at the workshop, and negotiations are ongoing with a leatherware master from Thailand and a goldsmith from Italy.