Landscapes Served in Traditional Porcelain Bowls

From a young age, Shanghai-based artist Yang Yongliang has explored Chinese art and calligraphy, but, even with its thousands of years of history, he is concerned that these traditional art forms are moving towards extinction. However, the artist believes that there are ways to move this art culture into more modern times by using the newest technology and techniques and blending them with the old. He says, "As long as the characteristics don't change, the media you use to express the art doesn't matter."

With these ideas in mind, Yongliang recently created A Bowl of Taipei, in which he blends layers of photography into surreal compositions. Through digital manipulation, the artist built stunning landscapes in which, when viewed closely, the modern world of Taipei is revealed. Yongliang juxtaposes this contemporary life by setting it within bowls that are considered some of the earliest known Chinese Jingdezhen porcelain. The series visually represents the past, the present, and the future of Chinese art and there is a calm and serene beauty within each landscape as waterfalls cascade down mountains, clouds fill the sky overhead, and buildings illuminate as nighttime falls.