Xu Zuliang 徐祖亮

Quick Facts

About the Artist

Xu Zuliang (徐祖亮) was born in 1980 in Shuiji Town (水吉镇), Jianyang, Fujian, an area closely connected with the historic production of Jian ware.

His work is particularly associated with modern yaobian (曜变) Jian Zhan, exploring luminous spots, halos, iridescence and dramatic changes in color as a bowl is moved through different light.

Xu is associated with Baozhan Ge (宝盏阁), a name that also appears together with his personal name on impressed base marks found on documented examples of his work.

Yaobian · 曜变

Xu Zuliang’s published biography records an important point in his development in September 2017, when he successfully fired a modern yaobian-style Jian Zhan using mineral glaze.

The visual character of these bowls comes from dense spotted patterns surrounded by luminous areas of blue, violet, turquoise and other iridescent tones. As the viewing angle and light change, the halos around the spots can appear to brighten, darken or shift in color.

This light-responsive quality is central to the modern idea of 曜变. Xu’s work belongs to a wider contemporary effort among Jianyang potters to investigate glaze effects inspired by the extraordinary surfaces found on surviving Song-dynasty Jian ware, while creating distinctly modern works.

Glazes & Artistic Character

Xu Zuliang is best known for highly reflective glaze surfaces in which dark Jian Zhan grounds are interrupted by clusters of circular or irregular spots surrounded by shifting halos of color.

Blue and turquoise are particularly prominent in documented examples, sometimes accompanied by violet, gold, bronze and silver tones. Lighting plays an unusually strong role in the appearance of these pieces, with the same bowl capable of looking substantially different as it is turned.

Published examples of his work also include traditional Jian Zhan glaze families such as rabbit hair (兔毫), as well as oil-drop and partridge-feather related effects.

Documented Works

Published artist catalogs include works attributed to Xu Zuliang such as:

• Shen Yao Zhan · 神曜盏
  A yaobian-style Jian Zhan made with an iron-rich body and mineral glaze.
• Wood-Fired Fire Phoenix Zhan · 柴烧火凤凰盏
  A wood-fired work using an iron-rich Jian Zhan body and mineral glaze.
• Rabbit-Hair Flared-Rim Zhan · 兔毫撇口盏
  Listed under Xu Zuliang in the third Minyi Cup Nanping ceramic creative-design competition.

Recognition

In 2017, Xu Zuliang was named among the recipients of the Big Ben Award · Shen Gong Award (大本钟奖 · 神工奖) as one of the year’s Most Admired Young Chinese Ceramic Artists, together with Huang Wenyong and Qiu Furong.

During events associated with the award in London, Jian Zhan works made by Xu Zuliang, Huang Wenyong and Qiu Furong were presented through Princess Katarina as gifts intended for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Xu’s Rabbit-Hair Flared-Rim Zhan (兔毫撇口盏) also appears in the published results of the third Minyi Cup Nanping ceramic creative-design competition.

Marks & Signatures

A documented impressed mark associated with Xu Zuliang contains six characters arranged in two rows:

寶盞閣
徐祖亮

The upper row identifies Baozhan Ge, written here in traditional characters as 寶盞閣 (simplified 宝盏阁). The lower row gives the artist’s name, Xu Zuliang · 徐祖亮.

About the 2017 Yaobian Claims

Xu Zuliang’s published artist biography strongly praises his 2017 yaobian work and compares its visual effect with the famous surviving Song-dynasty yaobian bowls.

Those comparisons reflect the language of the artist biography and contemporary promotion of the work. They should not be interpreted as an independent determination that a modern bowl is equivalent to, or exceeds, the surviving Song-dynasty examples.

Sources & Research

• Xu Zuliang artist biography and documented works · Taohuren
• 2017 Big Ben Award · Shen Gong Award recipient list
• 2017 London Big Ben Award event reporting
• Fujian Ceramic Industry Association · Minyi Cup competition results