向美而生·长三角非遗系列——范伟群紫砂陶艺术展

展览时间:2025-01-11 到 2025-06-01
展览地点:苏州博物馆忠王府楠木厅

序    言

“青箬旧封题谷雨,紫砂新罐买宜兴。”

宜兴紫砂陶,始于宋,兴于明,盛于清。它源自宜兴得天独厚之五色陶土,经本地匠人巧手塑造,化为淳朴精雅之紫砂陶器。紫砂陶质地细腻,色泽古雅,宜茶而不夺香,久用而愈温润,故而以紫砂陶所制茶壶历来为世人所珍重。明代供春首开紫砂壶艺之先河,继而时大彬、陈鸣远等紫砂名家辈出,更使其艺臻于精妙,数百年间,心手相传。

时至清末民初,宜兴范氏有范广善、范钦仁父子二人善制紫砂。《易经》有云“大德曰生”,故二人所制紫砂壶皆以“大生”为印,号为“范大生”,世人称其壶为“大生壶”。大生壶气格弘旷,浑朴端雅,技艺精深,国人重之,并于国际赛事中屡获殊荣,闻名海内,在当时传为佳话。如今,光阴流转,“大生壶”的名号仍是代代相承。

范伟群先生是“大生壶”第四代嫡传,他生于陶艺世家,又得吴同芬、徐汉棠等紫砂名家大师的指点,根基端正,得入紫砂陶艺之大道;同时,他虚怀博纳,钻阅研寻,从艺四十年仍是勤勉不懈,善学善思,因而终得承“大生壶”之统序,扬一代之新风。他所创作的“合菱”“竹鼎”诸壶,继承范家大生壶之典范,端庄秀雅,尽显古典之美;“书香”“棠棣”诸壶,更是根植于传统土壤之上历练沉淀,精丽清新,古韵与时代气息兼而有之;而“无相”“水云间”诸壶,则势如广袤宇宙星河,于知白守黑之中,探求人与自然天地之间的联系,传递出远超器用之上的哲思。

范伟群先生的作品立根传统而又求新多变,映照出紫砂陶这一传统非遗于当代所焕发出的粲粲生机,以及匠人精神于范家“大生壶”上的代代传承。传火以薪,绵绵不息,如今范伟群成立西望村紫砂合作社,反哺乡里,开馆传艺,引领乡村振兴事业。而宜兴紫砂陶这一国家级非物质文化遗产,也正在当代紫砂艺人们的共同努力下扬风激浪,开拓新程。

本次展览,苏州博物馆在宜兴市文体广电和旅游局、宜兴市博物馆的大力支持下,有幸与范伟群先生携手,潜心驰思,经营筹划,精选紫砂陶作品六十余件套。诚邀观众朋友与我们一道品读范家“大生壶”的故事,欣赏当代“大生壶”的神韵,感悟器物之上所蕴藏的哲思。最后,感谢范伟群先生慷慨捐赠紫砂陶作品“四方隐角竹鼓提梁”,为丰富我馆馆藏做出贡献。

 

苏州博物馆馆长  谢晓婷

二〇二五年一月


Preface

 

 

“The tea picked in Grain Rain is sealed with bamboo leaf while the Zisha pot is recently bought in Yixing city”.

 

Yixing Zisha pottery began in Song Dynasty, developed in Ming Dynasty and flourished in Qing Dynasty. It originated from the five-colour clay in Yixing which is endowed by nature. And the clay was shaped by the hands of local craftsmen into simple and elegant Zisha wares which had a delicate texture, classic color and lustre in elegant taste. Zisha pots are conducive to getting the flavor out of the tea and the more they are used the more they turn into jade-like warmness and smoothness. In this way, teapots made of Zisha clay have always been cherished by generations. Gong Chun in Ming Dynasty was the pioneer of the art of Zisha pots, followed by Shi Dabin, Chen Mingyuan and others famous Zisha masters who were dedicated to exquisite craftsmanship and passed on the technique for several generations.

 

During the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period, Fan Guangshan and his son Fan Qinren in Yixing were good at making Zisha wares. According to I Ching, Book of Changes, the greatest moral virtue is caring about life. Therefore, Zisha pots made by them were all inscribed with Chinese characters “Da Sheng” which referred to “greatest” and “life” respectively and Fan Guangshan and his son were known as Fan Dasheng while their works “Dasheng Pot”. The Dasheng Pot, which were in generous, simple and elegant style with fine craftsmanship, were valued by Chinese people while won many international awards, gaining considerable reputation at home and abroad at that time. Nowadays, as time goes by, the title of “Dasheng Pot” is still passed on from generation to generation.

 

Mr. Fan Weiqun, the fourth generation of “Dasheng Pot”, was born in a ceramic family, and got the instruction from Wu Tongfen, Xu Hantang and other famous masters of Zisha, thus taking root in the right direction to the broad road of Zisha pottery art. At the same time, he is devoted to reading and researching with a humble heart, open mind and critical thinking during his forty-year pursuit of pottery learning. Finally, he is succeed in inheriting the skill of “Dasheng Pot” and leads a new trend of the times. Zisha pots he made including “Water-Chestnut-Flower-Shaped Teapot” and “Teapot with Bamboo Design” are typical “Dasheng Pot” with classic beauty and elegant taste. Pots such as “Sweet-scented Offerings” and “Twin Flowers” which develop on the basis of tradition are fine and stylish with both ancient charm and characteristics of the times. “Formlessness” and “Water and Cloud” and other pots are in a style as grand as universe which explore the connection between human beings and the nature, conveying philosophical thoughts far beyond the object itself.

 

Mr. Fan Weiqun’s works are rooted in tradition and yet seek for new changes, reflecting not only the vitality of the traditional intangible cultural heritage of Zisha pottery in the contemporary times, but also the inheriting of spirit of craftsmanship through Fan family’s “Dasheng Pot”. The torch of Zisha pottery art needs passing down in generation. Now Mr. Fan Weiqun has set up the Zisha Co-operative Society in Xiwang Village and opened a museum where people can learn Zisha making to feed back his hometown and make a contribution to the cause of rural revitalisation. Yixing Zisha pottery, a national intangible cultural heritage, is also riding the wind and waves to start a new journey under the joint efforts of contemporary Zisha artists.

 

With the support of Yixing Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism and Yixing Museum, Suzhou Museum has the honour to join hands with Mr. Fan Weiqun to select more than 60 sets of Zisha wares for this exhibition. We invite you to read the story of the Fan family’s “Dasheng Pot”, to appreciate the charm of contemporary “Dasheng Pot”, and to comprehend the philosophical ideas contained in the artefacts. Last but not least, we thank Mr. Fan Weiqun for the generous donation of his Zisha work “Loop-handled Teapot with Four Caved-in Corners and Design of Bamboo and Drum” to enrich the collection of Suzhou Museum.

 

 

 

Xie Xiaoting

Director of Suzhou Museum

January 2025