Pei Xueli The Trace Of Clay

Article by Chen Yongqun

The natural world has provided both material and conceptual inspiration for

Chinese artist Pei Xueli presents his understanding about nature through the

clay,the form and the fire.Whether flat or sculptural,he combines these in an

almost subconscious effor towards such an expression.Nature not only offers

elemental resources,it has equally been a source of knowledge about

structure,growth,transformation and renewal.The free form works of Pei,made in a

small studio,comprise a series of ceramic objects,intended for hand and clay

percepion.

Ceramic art is often read and instinctively understood through the

materials.Wordds such as clay,glaze or fire conjure images of their source and

transformation;each triggers unique sensory associations."I have produced several

works which are'picked'from the earth,"says Pei."The material is the most

important frame of reference to me.Clay is from the soil and it has a naturallink

with the earth.My works are related to a flatness but they are still pure

structures like the images of the paper and ther pictures of poetry.The

splintering and warping that appear in my work are part of nature,the intuition

of naturalness to time and history."

The important aspects are the materials and techniques and how they are used and

perceived.For Pei,the form of clay in itself is not enough in making the

objects.Instead,the form of clay in combination with the unusual consideration of

the material is a stepping stone towards the approach of nature.

Pei has lived in Suzhou for many years.It is his favourite city that he has lived

in in China.The white walls and black roofs of Suzhou are open to the winds,rain

and sunshine.They constitute a contrast to the past and now,open historical

scenery:an enclosed and compact classical Chinese gardens environment,a space on

a scale which is small in relation to the openness of the scenery,to the meaning

of nature.It is poetic to Pei that a shape is unrecognised.Skin texture,cracking

and bending make unconscious shapes,even without any intention.They have a

significant content in ceramics.

Pei constantly reworks the same themes.An ideal state is one of his motifs,which

has led to a natural boundary between classical Chinese gardens and poetry."For

myself,it is a question of balance.In the end,they are both about form.In Chinese

gardens the most important thing is a symbolic natural space,changing form that

contains a possibility of many poetic aspects and,at the same time,the space and

natural objects ae already the themes of Dao in themselves.The landscape of my

childhood was a pond,clay and trees,their constantly changing forms and light.The

visual experiences of nature meant a lot to me even in my early childhood.The

perception of nature and landscape is everywhere the same sensations and

experience are universal but in different forms.Nature in my works is a'free form

concept',loose shapes associated with certain colours and traces of

making.Ihave,as a starting point,a personal experience,the memory of my

childhood,the visualised classical Chinese poems and the reflection on historical

references."

(Chen Yongqun is a writer and teacher in the Art and Design Department,TongJi

University,ShangHai,China)

此文发表于《世界陶艺杂志》