Crafting a future for traditional arts

Yu Le Tu (Fishes and Happiness) displayed in Shanghai Tower. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Another famous piece named Yu Le Tu (Fishes and Happiness) is displayed in the hall of Shanghai Tower. Completed in 2015, the tower is 632 meters high and was the tallest building in the world at that time.

The work was completed by Guo and 17 other artists.

It gathered wisdom from all over the country, including sancai works from Luoyang, blue and white porcelain from Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, Jun and Ru porcelain from Yuzhou and Ruzhou in Henan province, and works from the Ding kiln in Quyang in Hebei province, the Ge kiln in Longquan in Zhejiang province, and works using purple sand clay from Yixing in Jiangsu province.

The piece of art was tailor-made for the tower and was scrupulously designed with an attention to detail. The 2,015 glazed ceramic boards echo the year the artwork was created, the 127 columns of the work reflect the number of floors in the building, and the 632 flying fish mirror the height of the tower.

Guo has also made a foray into watch design, using Luoyang sancai to make watch dials. Due to variables in the kiln-firing process and the nature of glaze, every dial is unique and impossible to recreate.