MEI WENDING(1940 – 2020)
Mei Wending, born in 1940 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, was a ‘Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts’. He graduated from the Sculpture Faculty of Guangzhou Fine Ar t s Inst i tute i n 1962. Devoting himself to pottery art in Shiwan since his graduation, he absorbed skills from past Shiwan ceramic masters, establishing a profound foundation. He believed that contemporary ceramic artists should inherit traditions without being constrained by them, breaking free from traditional topics and patterns to create art that embodies modern beauty. Thus, Mei Wending was called the ‘advocate of modern Shiwan pottery’.
Mei excelled at animal sculptures and vessel design. His artworks combine traditional cultural aesthet i c s wi t h a modern sensibility. His artistic style stands out by succinctness and simplicity, with modelling that is simple, unsophisticated, classical, graceful, pure, and fresh. His representative works include ‘Carved Stationery ’, ‘Three Buddhist Monks’, ‘ Tidal Surge of Emotion’, ‘Fish’, and ‘Cow’. His works are collected by the National Museum of China, the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum and the Macao Museum of Art.
Mei was also good at painting, calligraphy, prose, and artistic commentary. He compiled and published books such as Modern Ceramics of Shiwan, Ceramic Art History of Shiwan and Mei Wending and Ceramic Art.