'Empirical Substance': Exhibition showcases works of ceramic artists

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For many artists, ceramics is an important medium to express thoughts and build their creations. Two ceramic artists brought their works to Beijing's Muyun Space over the weekend. Titled 'Empirical Substance', the exhibition showcases some stunning pieces.

The ceramic pieces on display were created by American artist Ryan LaBar, who has used clay to express his inner feelings about art for many years.

RYAN LABAR ARTIST "Ceramic wasn't something I chose, ceramics chose me. You learned how to work with it, you learned how to communicate with it, and then that sort of communication becomes a language. As an artist, we hope it becomes poetry where it becomes greater than a language."

LaBar's sculptures consist of complex pieces which the artist says are based on the method of putting small parts together to create a whole.

LaBar maintains a studio in South China's Jingdezhen, the city widely regarded as the porcelain capital of China.

It was there that he received much of his inspiration and produced many of his creations.

The exhibition also presents another ceramic work by Chinese artist Zhang Ming, who uses hundreds of white ceramic chips to portray a traditional Chinese ink-wash painting.

ZHANG MING ARTIST "My work is called 'Floating Clouds and Flowing Water-Dance'. It expresses my reflection on traditional Chinese culture. Ceramics are widely used in our daily life, but how to use this traditional material to create a new art form was a challenge for me."

Zhang said he got his inspiration from clouds, and as a result, created this three-dimensional traditional Chinese painting.

ZHANG MING ARTIST "I was inspired by the floating clouds I saw on a plane. The advantage of using ceramic chips is that I can create my work in a three-dimensional way. I use white color to replace all the black elements in Chinese ink wash paintings and put all the chips together to create a whole."

The exhibition will run until July 10th.