Hand-in-hand, strolling through a Tadao Ando-esque corridor, Loretta H. Yang and Christine Fabre could very easily be mistaken for sisters. Pouring over each exhibit piece that night, the two artists quickly plunged into a deep back-and-forth. Paying close attention, one might begin to wonder if their incidental resemblance is more than skin deep. That is because Yang and Fabre, two birds of a feather, share in the same struggle and speak the same language.

“That feeling of toiling with our hands to create something from our hearts and placing it in the kiln only to open it and find broken pieces… that’s a bittersweet feeling Christine Fabre and I both face.”

On September 1^st, a LIULI partnership with world-class contemporary art center Galerie Capazza brought the likes of ceramic virtuoso Christine Fabre to our LIULI China Museum for the opening night of her first solo exhibit in Asia. The exhibit, titled From Visible to Invisible: Faith Born from Fire, will extend through January 6th of next year.

 Fabre’s ceramics are widely celebrated in Europe, exhibited in half a dozen countries and publicly collected in Ville de Villeurbanne, Grassi Museum, Liepzig and Musee de Sevres among other institutions. Originally inspired by Song porcelain of the 13^th century, her early works imitated their ice-crack patterns and traditional glazing before eventually deviating toward what is considered a truly international contemporary style

Tired of conventional views of elegance, Fabre began aspiring toward a more genuine expression. She combined minimalist aesthetics with the wabi-sabi philosophy in a return to our primitive roots as human society. The versatile craftswoman uses “raku” and a unique feather-and-woodchip technique to create raw, unadulterated emotion. Many of her pieces (spheres, Egyptian canopes, and African envols) speak with a disturbing-yet-refreshing sincerity. It shows the shocking beauty and elegance that can be found in the primitive and unsophisticated.

But why ceramics? And why in a glass museum? Yang accedes that ultimately, ceramic—just like glass—is nothing more than just a medium. And lacking in spirit or life, that material will be nothing more than just a material. But ceramic and glass are both mediums born from fire. They both endure a long and tiring process of trial and error that test the artist’s endurance—oftentimes resulting in nothing more than pools of sweat and broken artworks.

“To face limitations, fundamentally, is the motivation for all creativity.” -Loretta H. Yang

Reflecting on this struggle, Yang shared her thoughts: “That feeling of toiling with our hands to create something from our hearts and placing it in the kiln only to open it and find broken pieces… that’s a bittersweet feeling Christine and I both face.” This creation process is the common denominator for Yang and Fabre. It is a journey of self-discovery and discovery of life that is brimming with both joy and suffering.

There is much more to art than just art. Chang Yi points out, “creativity, in terms of living in the present… stands for more than just creative demonstration.” In Fabre’s own words, working as a ceramist has given her strength and allowed her to look straight into life’s sufferings.

We invite you to experience in this journey together. Whether on a trip to our LIULI China Museum, Shanghai or online, see for your own eyes Christine Fabre’s ceramics—born from fire.

From Visible to Invisible: Faith Born from Fire