Zhang Wenlin, a local ceramic artist in Shenzhen, won the first prize at the 15th China Arts and Crafts Culture and Creativity Competition during the 18th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) that concluded Monday.

Zhang’s winning work is a pair of blue and white porcelain named “A Pair of Kingfisher’s Love by Riverside.” He said the inspiration came from Shenzheners’ stories of constructing and protecting the city’s green hills and clear waters. “The various species of birds and plants are peacefully coexisting with mankind, thus forming a good ecological environment and building a harmonious homeland in Shenzhen. “The lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets for us Shenzhen people and this pair of kingfishers, like the ones from the ‘Book of Songs,’ is a symbol of people's happiness in love and life,” Zhang said.

Zhang Wenlin, a local ceramic artist in Shenzhen, poses for a photo holding his certificate after winning first prize at the 15th China Arts and Crafts Culture and Creativity Competition on Monday. Courtesy of Zhang Wenlin

The creation combines the freehand in-glaze blue-and-white with the innovative in-glaze decoration technique, as well as the cultural painting techniques of the Xin'an School of Painting with Jingdezhen ceramic art, making the porcelain more colorful and artistically charming.

Zhang is a successor of the three masters of the Xin'an School of Painting (Zhang Hanfei, Zhang Junyi, and Zhang Zhongping); the second and third disciples of modern Chinese painter Huang Binhong, and a successor of the well-known Jingdezhen ceramic family (Zhang Yuxian and Zhang Yinling). He has been engaged in traditional Chinese painting for over 30 years and is the vice chairman of the Shenzhen Dapeng New District Calligraphers Association and the director of Shenzhen Longhua District Artists Association.

The China Arts and Crafts Culture and Creativity Competition is one of the highest-standard events in China’s arts and crafts circle. As one of the highlights of the annual ICIF, it has been successfully held for 14 sessions since 2007 and has witnessed the continuous improvement of the national arts and crafts skills and creation. 

Piotr Blaskaz from Poland visits the Longhua Pavilion at the 18th ICIF on Dec. 31. Wang Haolan

The competition aims to promote the integration of excellent traditional culture and innovative ideas, to encourage practitioners to make bold innovations in terms of materials, designs, and themes, so as to create artworks that can be collected and appreciated and utilized in the lives of the masses.