Brushstroke Ballet: Guangcai’s Renaissance in Hong Kong Heritage Exhibition
Date:May 12 - Aug 11, 2025
Venue:Near shop 120, 1/F, Citywalk
Guangcai, officially known as Canton Famille Rose Porcelain, is renowned worldwide for its brilliant and luxurious designs. In December 2024, the Hong Kong government officially listed the Guangcai making technique in the "Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List." This craft was brought to Hong Kong in the 1950s by artisans from the mainland and Macau, taking root as Hong Kong's economy soared, making it a key base for Guangcai exports to Europe and America in the 1960s and 70s, thus writing a unique chapter in the city’s history.
This exhibition features the exquisite works of Hong Kong Guangcai master Cheung Kam-ping and his close students. Master Cheung has over half a century of craft experience, and this exhibition will allow the public to appreciate this artistic treasure, which has a history of over 300 years, up close, feeling its unique charm that blends Chinese and Western cultures with stunning colors.
The exhibits are divided into five main themes: "Landscapes and Figures," "Flowers and Birds," "Hundred Butterflies," "Auspicious Symbols," and "Poetry, Calligraphy, Painting, and Seals." Visitors can appreciate the diverse styles of Guangcai—experiencing the blend of Eastern and Western brush strokes in landscapes; understanding the delicate three-dimensional shaping through the layered glazes of figures' garments; witnessing the artisans' patience and exquisite skills through the hundred butterflies pattern; feeling the classic technique of "one stroke defines yin and yang" in the rendering of peonies and myriad flowers; and enjoying the perfect fusion of calligraphy, stone inscriptions, and porcelain painting in the poetry and painting series, transcending the limitations of the objects themselves.