Chun Wen Wang (王俊文, W''áng Jùn Wén'', born 1956) is a Taiwanese-American ceramic artist living in San Diego, California, in the United States. He primarily specializes in high-fired temperature liquid-in-liquid saturated glazes.

Early life and education

Chun Wen Wang was born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1956. He graduated from

Hsing Wu University Hsing Wu University (HWU; ) is a private university located in Linkou District, New Taipei, Taiwan. History HWU was originally established in 1965. It was upgraded to Hsing Wu College in 2000 and to Hsing Wu University in 2012. President Nota ...

in 1978 and immigrated to the United States in 1982. He studied and worked at

San Diego Mesa College San Diego Mesa College (Mesa College or Mesa) is a public community college in San Diego, California. It is part of San Diego Community College District and the California Community Colleges system. The college is accredited by the Accrediting ...

from 1988 to 2000. From 1992 to 1996, Wang also researched ancient Chinese glazes in the Department of Conservation Science at the

National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin District, Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a S ...

in Taipei, Taiwan.

Career

In 1997, Wang's work of re-creating the elusive “liquid in liquid” iron-crystalline glazes of the Song dynasty was published in the April 1997 issue of

Ceramics Monthly The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) is a nonprofit organization of professionals for the ceramics community, with a focus on scientific research, emerging technologies, and applications in which ceramic materials are an element. ACerS is located ...

, the authoritative and largest-circulated studio ceramics magazine. He received accolades from Ceramics Monthly with a portrayal on the front cover. In addition, Wang has been honored with a gold medal from the National Museum of History in Taipei, Taiwan for his outstanding contributions to international ceramic research and named the "father of liquid in liquid separated glaze". Furthermore, he is credited with uncovering the secret of the Song dynasty Jian black glaze along with the development of seven different kinds of unprecedented separated glaze colors. Wang's expertise lies in his understanding of glazes under high-fired temperatures (

pyrometric cone Pyrometric cones are pyrometric devices that are used to gauge heatwork during the firing of ceramic materials in a kiln. The cones, often used in sets of three, are positioned in a kiln with the wares to be fired and, because the individual c ...

10, 11). Since 1993, his focus has been on the

Jian ware Jian ware or Chien ware () is a type of Chinese pottery originally made in Jianyang, Fujian province. It, and local imitations of it, are known in Japan as ''Tenmoku'' (). It consists of simple shapes in stoneware, with a strong emphasis on sub ...

and

Tenmoku ''Tenmoku'' (天目, also spelled "temmoku" and "temoku") is a type of glaze that originates in imitating Chinese Jian ware (建盏) of the southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), original examples of which are also called ''tenmoku'' in Japan. Ji ...

youhen glazes. In his two books, ''Beyond the Tian Mu Shan'' and ''The Glaze from a Merciful Heart'', Wang showcases his signature glazes reminiscent of the Tenmoku Youhen style with the likes of iridescent black pearl rainbow, red oil spot with gold rings, and yellow and orange red oil spots. Using American techniques and technology in tandem with his personal research, Wang continues to push and re-innovate the boundaries of modern glaze research using the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

ceramics as inspiration. Wang's work is included in more than 20 eminent museum collections worldwide including notable museums such as the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

, the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

, the

University of Michigan Museum of Art The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) is one of the largest university art museums in the United States, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with . Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alu ...

, the

American Museum of Ceramic Art The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) is an art museum for ceramic art, located in Pomona, California. Founded in 2003 as a nonprofit organization, the museum exhibits historic and contemporary ceramic artwork from both its permanent collec ...

, the Asian Art Museum, the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, and the

National Museum of History The National Museum of History (NMH; ) is located in the Nanhai Academy in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. After the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan, the National Museum of History was the first museum to be established in Tai ...

in Taiwan. In addition, Wang has been invited to many multiple prestigious museums for exhibitions. In the past, the National Museum of History held eight domestic R.O.C. Ceramics Biennial Exhibitions between 1986 and 1998 to "promote modern ceramics." In the year 2000, Wang was invited by the National Museum of History to the International Biennial Exhibition of Ceramic Art as the American representative. His first international solo exhibition also took place at the National Museum of History in Taiwan from October 9, 2007, to November 11, 2007. This time, Wang held a solo exhibition with the intent of "expanding the domestic arts field of vision, encouraging creativity, and founding a new scene for modern Taiwan ceramics." He has also held a solo exhibition, titled ''The Secret'' ''of the Song Dynasty'', as part of the American Museum of Ceramic Art's ''Iron Saga'' exhibition running from April 7, 2005, to May 7, 2005.

Reception

David Armstrong, the founder of the

, stated that "there is one man, Chun Wen Wang, who has achieved spectacular results where others have failed" when it comes to reproducing the ceramic works of the Song dynasty. Furthermore, in Armstrong's words, Chun Wen Wang is "a master of the ceramic medium", and his artworks are not just a replication of the ancient Song dynasty glazes but a development of "a series of glazes unlike any others."

References

Sources

* Wang, Chun Wen (2001). Beyond the Tien Mu Shan: The Ceramic Art of Chun Wen Wang (in English and Chinese). Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C.: Wushing Books. . * Wang, Chun Wen (2007). The Glaze from a Merciful Heart: The Ceramic Art of Chun Wen Wang (in English and Chinese). Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C.: Huang Yung-Chuan. . * Hachigian, J. (1997, April). Wang Chun Wen. ''Ceramics Monthly'', 59–62.

External links

Personal Art Blog
* Personal Flickr Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Chun Wen Chinese ceramists American ceramists American potters Living people 1956 births