East Contemporary

NeC nilsson et chiglien hong kong: Marie Torbensdatter Hermann “A Gentle Blow to the Rock”

(8/30-9/28/2013) http://www.galerienec.com

I arrived at this gallery by chance while on my way to some other place. I have passed by previously, but the usual display of ceramic vases and sculptures rarely got my attention. This time my sight was drawn in by the empty space that was lined by one long double-shelf along the whole room. On the shelf a set of ceramic objects that looked similar yet handmade repeated itself over and over. I liked the installation of the work and the simplicity of the shapes. The concept – juxtaposing Chinese cultural heritage of ceramics making with the current reputation of China as a place of mass production and simply copying – was as old as the idea of an artist edition, and I didn’t like that it parroted the stereotype of China as the ‘factory of the world’. But it was good work, maybe better without the handout story.

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