Wang Xiaoli

Wang Xiaoli 王潇笠 (née Wang Xiaoli 王晓丽, b. 1971)

Known professionally as Wang Xiaoli, she is a contemporary ceramic artist and a China National Master of Arts and Crafts (eighth batch, 2022). A native of Quyang, Hebei – a region famed for its carving heritage – she graduated from the Quyang Sculpture School and later pursued advanced studies at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (formerly the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts).

Her career spans two distinct media: she began in stone carving under Master Lu Jinqiao, then after relocating to Yixing in 1993, she turned to purple clay (zisha) art, studying under Chu Lizhi, Chen Wenzeng, and Luo Xiaoping. She has also served as a visiting scholar at the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Professional Titles & Affiliations

• Senior Craft Artist (Zhenggao)

• Senior Rural Revitalization Technician (Zhenggao)

• National Technical Expert in Ceramic Industry

• Visiting Scholar at the Chinese National Academy of Arts

• Executive President & Secretary-General of the Sculpture Branch, Yixing Ceramic Industry Association

• Adjunct Lecturer at Gu Jingzhou Purple Clay Art College

• Art Advisor for the Purple Clay Culture Alumni Association of Nanjing University

• Member of the China Democratic League, China Ceramic Industry Association, Jiangsu Ceramic Art Committee, and Jiangsu Arts and Crafts Association

  

Honors

• Model Worker of Hebei Province (Sanba Hongqi Shou)

• First batch of Jiangsu Provincial Rural Talent "Three-Belt" Expert

• Top Ten Young Ceramic Artists of Yixing

• Representative Inheritor of Wuxi Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage (fifth batch)

• Wuxi "Women's Meritorious Service" Model

• First Yixing "Purple Clay Civilized Person"

Teaching & Exhibitions
In 2020, she was appointed as a lecturer for the "Yixing Youth Ceramic Talent Promotion Program" by the Yixing Ceramic Museum. Her solo exhibitions include Graceful Purple Clay (Suzhou Jiaying Art Museum, 2009) and Devotion to Purple Clay (Dajue Temple, 2010). She has published several papers, including On the Harmonious Creation of Master Xingyun's Sculpture, The Potter, the Vessel, and the Mind (which won second prize in Yixing's excellent academic papers, 2009), Abstract Composition, Realistic Representation, and Vivid Form (third prize in the 5th Jiangsu "Yibo Cup" Ceramic Art Essay Competition, 2017), and Sculpting Dreams, Ode to the Flying Apsaras – On the Creative Elements of Zisha Sculpture 'Prosperous Flying Apsaras' (published in Ceramic Science & Art, 2018).

International & Institutional Recognition
Her works have been featured in the Chinese Fan Painting and Purple Clay Art Exhibition in the U.S. (2014) and Purple Clay from the East at the British Museum (2016). She is listed in the Jiangsu Provincial Cultural and Artistic Talent Archive.

Major Awards (selected)

• Dragon Maiden Emerging from Water (stone carving) – First Prize, 2nd Stone & Wood Carving Art Festival, 1991

• Thousand-Hand Guanyin – Silver, China Famous Tea Expo & Fine Arts Exhibition, 1993

• Tang Dynasty Charm – Bronze, 4th National Master Craft Artists Exhibition, 2003

• Zen Enlightenment & Lingshan Grand Buddha Teapot – Gold, 2nd Tai Expo Fine Arts Fair, 2004

• Mother – Gold, 6th National Master Craft Artists Exhibition, 2004

• Dream – Gold, 8th National Master Craft Artists Exhibition, 2006

• Eighteen Arhats & Money Talks – Gold, 9th National Master Craft Artists Exhibition, 2007

• Bhaisajyaguru Tathagata – Gold, Cultural Industries Fair, 2008

• Four Spirits Teapot – Gold (Creative Award), Guangzhou International Tea Expo, 2009

• Bodhidharma – Silver, Golden Phoenix Innovation Design Awards, 2010; also First Prize in Women's Achievement Exhibition, 2010

• Compassionate Ferry – Silver, "Baihua Cup" National Fine Arts Awards, 2010

• Lotus Realm Buddha – Silver, "Baihua Cup", 2011

• Dongpo Appreciating Inkstone & Hehe Erxian – Gold, 13th National Master Craft Artists Exhibition, 2011

• Go for Tea – First Prize, Yixing Ceramic Innovation Competition, 2012; also Gold in Hebei Ceramic Design Competition, 2014

• Harmonious Teapot – Gold, Tangshan Famous Works Exhibition, 2013

• Dragon Chant & Phoenix Song – Gold & Silver, "Golden Ram" Awards, Guangzhou Tea Expo, 2014

• Xiling Eight Seals – Gold, Jiangsu Ceramic Exhibition, 2014; Excellence Award, 10th National Ceramic Design Competition, 2015

• Meditation – Gold, China Ceramic Masters Exhibition, 2016

• Dragon Essence Fragrance teapot set – Silver, 2016

• Phoenix Dancing across China – Gold, "Dadi Award" Ceramic Competition, 2017

• Enlightenment – Gold, 2nd Jiangsu Ceramic Innovation Competition, 2017

• Hehe Erxian – Gold, 5th Jiangsu "Yibo Cup" Exhibition, 2017

• Where Has Time Gone? – Gold, 11th China Ceramic Art Exhibition, 2018; also Silver, World Teapot Competition, Yixing, 2019

• Visiting Plum in Snow – Gold, 11th China Ceramic Art Exhibition, 2018

• Lotus Realm Buddha – Gold, Jiangsu Craft Arts Competition, 2018

• Assembly of Sages – Gold, China Ceramic Masters Exhibition, 2019

• Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva – Silver, 2nd China Four Great Ceramics Exhibition, 2019

• Namo Ksitigarbha – Baihe Award (Innovation Design), 2019

• Dragon Chant teapot – Gold, China World Heritage Craft Arts "Golden Lion" Awards, 2019

• Time Knows All – Excellent Folk Arts and Crafts Award, Jiangsu Literary Award, 2019

• Cloud and Water (zisha) – Gold, 11th Jiangsu "Yibo Cup" Exhibition, 2020

• Ruoshui teapot – Grand Prize, "Dadi Award" Ceramic Innovation, 2020

• Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism – Buddhism – Silver, "Dadi Award", 2020

• Jin Gua teapot – Silver, "Dadi Award", 2020

Selected Collections

• Heartfelt Teapot – Wuxi Museum (2003)

• Vermilion Bird Teapot – Wuxi Museum (2009)

• Bhaisajyaguru & Azure Dragon Teapot – Jiangsu Cultural and Artistic Archive (2010)

• Chen Mansheng Portrait – Tangyun Art Museum, Hangzhou (2012)

• Ananda (sculpture) – Hebei Folk Museum (2012)

• Bodhidharma – Anhui Museum (2012)

• Dragon Essence Fragrance teapot – Jilin Museum (2013)

• Bhaisajyaguru – China Zisha Museum (2014)

• Spring Announcement teapot – Creighton University, USA (2014)

• Lotus Lover teapot – Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum (2014)

• Min Huifen Portrait – Min Huifen Art Museum (2015)

• Impression of Taihu – Nanjing Museum (2016)

• Dragon Chant teapot – National Art Museum of China (2019)

• Double-Bamboo Drum teapot – Hebei Museum (2020)

• Golden Melon zisha – Yunnan Museum (2020)

The article is authored by the Siyutao professional team.

References 王潇笠