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2011

Following the spirit – endorse the paragon, lead the future, and enrich thecurrent – the 7th Taipei Ceramics Awards, including Achievement Award,Creativity Award and Theme Award, is established to encourage the ceramic creation and to foster development of ceramic art in Taiwan.
The Achievement Award aims to commend the great contributor to ceramics in Taiwan.
The Creativity Award is designded to encourage creativity in ceramics making skills,forms of presentation,and texture performance,to demonstrate the vigor of contemporary ceramics art
The Theme Award for the 7th Taipei Ceramics Awards continued with the theme from the last year-“Play”,in the hope of encourage participants to display the connection between “play” and clay through ceramics art creation.

About My Creation

Winnie Yang

Winnie Yang

I fell in love with clay when I took Introduction to Ceramics in my senior year of university. When my hands touched clay, I felt that it’s something down-to-earth. I felt it’s friendly and allowed me to express my concepts of art. I was greatly moved and astonished that after being fired at high temperature, clay—a material which is an inexhaustible supply on the Mother Earth—could be transformed into permanent containers.
 
I was raised in an open-minded and educated family. I had been especially interested in craft courses in my childhood and blessedly my parents had never stopped me from pursuing my passion. When I majored in Fine Arts in postgraduate school, I received more solid and basic training.
 
My first job was in the Ceramics studio of Conservation Dept. at the NPM in Taipei as a ceramics researcher. When I was there, I had opportunities to observe world-class cultural and historical relics, to read a great deal of literature on ceramics and the history of ceramics, and to dissect material and glaze theories as well as operations of furnaces wholeheartedly. Because my experiences in the United States could not be applied, I had to undertake a comprehensive research project from scratch, which was a formidable task considering limited access to information during that time. I remembered that when I opened the kiln door and found that I finally managed to see an all-blue Lungch’uan-style vase with two
phoenix-shaped handles after six months of efforts, I was so thrilled that I felt like electricity going through my body. It’s an unforgettable memory even it was thirty years ago. After numerous experiments and trials, I became a master of kiln firing. Because of years of persistence, later I was finally able to integrate western techniques with materials from Taiwan to present my creative ideas about ceramics.
 
After I opened a studio in Kaohsiung in 1980, I attended workshops in the United States and Canada to learn experience from the systematic workshops in other countries. I opened up my studio to offer ceramics courses and organized conferences and seminars in cultural centers. There were several times that local counterparts and I visited pottery towns in Japan. Weekend fairs and exhibitions were also hosted and subsequently gave birth to the “Hautao” group. When Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts was about to be established, I was invited to provide suggestions for a detailed layout arrangement for its ceramics studio and to assist in editing the ceramics curriculum. This opportunity allowed me to share to more people the beauty of ceramic art and the basic knowledge and skills of ceramic making.
 
For more than two decades, I have been looking for a kind of style which can reveal characteristics of vessels while at the same time be something viewers can easily relate to. During this time, I switched my focus from vessels to large ceramic murals. This change of focus was influenced by the passage of the Public Art Grant Act, which gave artists more opportunities to leverage public spaces and showcase their works of art. My works are built based on artistic elements and design theory. They take advantage of outdoor-friendly characteristics of ceramics and use patterns of rocks, leaves, fruits, shells, currents, and etc. to portray the relationships among human beings, the earth, and the nature.
 
Through numerous years, the styles of my works have been altered several times. They have witnessed my growth as I go through different stages of life of being an artist, a wife, and a mother. Living in southern Taiwan for many years, I have been inspired by the diversity of plants and intense sunlight in the subtropical zone. In my mural artwork, I have continued to try out different combinations of colors and materials to express my perspectives on arts and attitudes towards life.
 
I have always felt grateful for helps and encouragement that many friends have given me and the freedom that my family has provided me.
 
Lastly, I would like to express my special thanks to the Yingge Ceramics Museum and the jury committee of this year for their recognition and honor.

Documentary

Personal Chronology

1946

Born to HSU Ya-fen and YANG Shao-zhen, who’s originally from Wujin County of Jiangsu Province of Mainland China, in Maryland of the United States of America

1947

Moved to Shanghai, Mainland China, with her parents in December

1949

Stayed with her mother in Shanghai when her parents divorced and her father moved to Taiwan with the National Government of the Republic of China; later moved with her mother to Beijing and lived with her grandparents in Xidan District of Beijing

1953

Studied in Peiyuan Elementary School in Dongcheng District of Beijing

1954

Moved with her mother to Shanghai and transferred to Nanyang Model Elementary School in Xuhui District of Shanghai

1959

Studied in Hongqiao Middle School in Shanghai

1961

Restored the citizenship of the United States; moved to Taiwan and lived with her father
Studied in Grace Junior Middle School, now as the Affiliated Experimental High School of Tunghai University

1963

Graduated from Grace Junior High School in Taichung City; in the same year enrolled at Taipei First Girls High School

1966

Graduated from Taipei First Girls High School.

1967

Enrolled at William Woods College, Missouri, U.S.A., majoring in Mathematics and receiving a four-year full tuition scholarship

1968

Took one to two art-related courses every semester during her college years

1970

Took a course in Ceramics, which was the start of exploring ceramic arts

1971

Received B.S. from William Woods College, U.S.A.
Admitted to the Mathematics graduate program of the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, U.S.A.; met her future husband KUO Tsung-tien in a Statistics course

1972

Transferred to the graduate program in fine arts, majoring in ceramics with a minor in design; married to KUO Tsung-tien

1974

Received. MFA in ceramics from the University of Missouri, U.S.A.; held a solo exhibition of ceramic art in the gallery of the University of Missouri
Moved to New York City and resided there for 10 months

1975

Relocated to Taiwan with her husband, becoming Taiwan’s first-ever ceramist with an master degree of fine arts
Worked in the National Palace Museum in Taipei (1975-1979) where she was in charge of English tour guides in the Exhibition Division for the first two months and transferred to the Ceramics studio of Conservation Dept..Division dissecting ancient royal ceramics and understanding the making process of traditional Chinese ceramics

1976

Gave birth to her first daughter Mei-lin

1978

Presented a paper titled "The Study on Overglazing in the Ming Dynasty" in the International Ceramic Art Conference in Faenza, Italy, on behalf of the National Palace Museum; Visited Finland and Sweden after the conference
Started to publish a series of articles on the development of ceramic art around the world in magazines including Artist Magazine and Lion Art

1979

Gave birth to her second daughter Mei-shan
Resigned from her position in the National Palace Museum; moved to Niaosong Township of Kaohsiung
County due to her husband’s work
Opened her studio and started taking in students

1980

Held her first solo exhibition in the Spring Gallery in Taipei (1980.11/22-12/4)
Artist Magazine (Issue No. 66, November) published a 22-page cover story (equivalent to one sixth of
the magazine capacity), including 8 articles and photographs demonstrating ceramic making process
Artwork selected at the 39th Faenza International Ceramic Art Competition, Faenza, Italy

1981

Invited to participate in the Exhibition of Works by Contemporary Chinese and Japanese Ceramists (1981.1/13-28) hosted by
National Museum of History, Taipei, and Interchange Association Japan
Artwork selected at the 40th Faenza International Ceramic Art Competition, Faenza, Italy

1982

Winnie YANG participated in 12 Ceramists-Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition in Printer Gallery, Taipei

1983

Held her second solo exhibition in the Tao-yu-chi Gallery in Kaohsiung
Invited to participate in the 10th National Fine Art Annual Group Exhibition in Taipei

1984

Artwork received Merit Prize in Modern Ceramics Promotion Competition and First Prize in Contemporary Tea Set Competition, Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Established “Hautao” Group with her studio students; held the first group exhibition “Letao Dinner Ware Exhibition” (1984.4/5-8) with her students at Tao-yu-chi Gallery in Kaohsiung
Visited ceramic towns in Japan with “Hautao” Group members, ceramist TSAI Jung-yu, and LIOU Chen-chou who studied in Japan at the time; visited Japanese ceramist Shimaoka Tatsuzo
Visited a summer workshop at Red Deer College, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

1986

Invited to participate in the Creating from Tradition: A Taste of Our Modern Arts exhibition held by National Palace Museum, Taipei
Artwork selected at the Biennale Internationale de Céramique de Vallauris, Vallauris, France
Authored Ceramics Handbook (Original Title in Mandarin: 陶藝手冊) published by Artist Magazine

1987

Held her solo exhibition in the Cave Gallery, Taipei

1988

Invited to participate in the Contemporary Taiwan Ceramics Exhibition held by Council for Cultural Affairs of Executive Yuan and toured to Übersee-Museum in Bremen, and other places in West Germany

1992

Invited to participate in the Contemporary Ceramics International Invitational Exhibition held by National Museum of History, Taipei
Invited to participate in the Study on Four Decades of Ceramics in Taiwan (1992. 6/27-8/24) held by Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung

1993

Held solo exhibitions in Pottery Lovers Gallery, Taipei, and in Han Lin Gallery, Kaohsiung
Authored Collection of Ceramics Works (Original Title in Mandarin: 楊文霓陶作) published by Pottery Lovers Gallery, Taipei, and in Han Lin Gallery, Kaohsiung
Invited to participate in the 1st Pacific Rim Ceramic Sculpture Exhibition, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

1994

Invited to be an artist in residence at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, offering ceramic courses in the Department of Fine Arts and the lecture series “Introduction to Underglaze Decoration Techniques in the Northern Song Dynasty During 10th to 12th Century”

1995

Held her solo exhibition in the Up Gallery, Taipei

1999

Invited to hold her solo exhibition “The Journey of Boundary Crossing” in Kaohsiung County Cultural Center; the exhibition later toured to six county cultural centers in Taiwan
Authored The Journey of Boundary Crossing – Winnie YANGs Ceramic Works (Original Title in Mandarin:跨越之旅—楊文霓陶作) published by Kaohsiung County Cultural Center
Invited to participate in the 10th Biennal of Contemporary Ceramics of Châteauroux, Musée des Cordeliers, Châteauroux, France

2007

Worked with ceramist YAO Keh-hong to launch Taiwan ClayArt Tribes website (available online at:http://www.taiwanclayart.org.tw/) as a social platform for ceramics

2011

Received the Achievement Award for the 7th Taipei Ceramics Awards from the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum; held the Achievement Award winner's solo exhibition in the Yingge Ceramics Museum (2011.3/5-6/12)

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