enad.tsinghua.edu.cn , February 7, 2021
On December 11, 2020, the 4th China Hejian International Lampwork Glass Art Festival, co-sponsored by China National Arts and Crafts Society, China Arts and Crafts Association, Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, and Hejian Municipal People's Government, was officially staged at the Shangde Glass Museum. This year's art festival kicked off with the demonstration of lampwork glass art by domestic and foreign artists, and an address delivered on site by Professor Wang Jianzhong at Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University. As the academic host of this event, Professor Wang first thanked the Hejian CPC Municipal Committee and Hejian Municipal Government for their vigorous support. He noted that in such a special year, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic had rendered preparations for the event very difficult in the early stage. Nevertheless, with the unremitting efforts of all parties, this year's art festival had been successfully opened as scheduled.
The event had drawn wide attention from the glass art circles at home and abroad. Because of the pandemic, communication and exchanges were conducted both online and offline. Five Chinese glass artists and lampwork art masters, including Zhou Lei, Cheng Shengyuan, Wang Chaohong, Sun Fengzhu, and Sun Fengjun, brought all participants many wonderful live creative demonstrations at the lampwork art performance area of the Shangde Glass Museum. Three international artists, Kathleen Elliot, Madeline Rile Smith and Eriko Kobayashi, prepared creative demonstrations of lampwork glass art of different styles for the audience on the other side of the ocean, and shared their personal artistic creation experiences.
Zhou Lei, a teacher from Jilin University of Arts, gave the audience a look into the production process of lampwork blue prawns, which seemed to jump from Qi Baishi's painting to the artist's hands. Cheng Shengyuan, Sun Fengjun, and Sun Fengzhu, lampwork glass masters from Boshan, showed Zibo's traditional lampwork skills, vividly presenting innocent giant pandas, goldfish, mandarin ducks, swans and other animals. Associate Professor Wang Chaohong at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts exhibited exquisite lampwork design works, and displayed the logo of this festival with consummate lampwork glass techniques.