Reviving Craft: Reflection of the Mind

Curated by Su Dan, Deputy Director of the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum (CTCM) and Professor at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, alongside Yang Lan, Chairperson of Sun Media Group, this exhibition celebrates the enduring value of craft through a global lens. Across stoneware, ceramics, glass, jewellery, textiles, and furniture, Reviving Craft: Reflection of the Mind explores what craft means – culturally, philosophically and materially. The exhibition traces China's living craft heritage, not as a preserved artefact but as an ongoing conversation between traditional and contemporary design. Digital and immersive elements run throughout, bringing heritage techniques into the present through modern technology and imagination. Rooted in Eastern thought, the exhibition draws on Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism to argue that objects reflect the mind: these are not just made but thought into being, carrying the inner life of their maker. Reviving Craft: Reflection of the Mind offers a different way of looking, one that challenges assumptions about the relationship between maker, object, and viewer. Structured around three inward states – Chengxin (clearing the mind), Xiuxin (refining the mind), and Yangxin (nourishing the mind) – the exhibition suggests that craft is neither a relic of the past nor a luxury of the present, but a living, evolving practice. Highlights include work by Rosalie Huang, a fashion artist and editorial consultant for Vogue China, Ouyang Wendong's multi-sensory, delicate sculptures, the work of eco-art creator Huang Lu, and work using traditional techniques, such as Li Xiaofeng’s practice using ancient ceramic shards and Ma Yixi who integrates intangible cultural heritage with architectural culture. Another highlight is fiber artist Shuang Xi who explores the imprints time embeds within materials.