Madeln Curved Vase- Blue and White Vase with Design of Figures

The art of Xu Zhen plays provocatively with the notion of collision: from cultural ideologies and global histories to the act of creation and power of commerce. These central tensions relate closely to the climate of the early 2000s -- a time of unparalleled economic development in China and rapid globalisation. This was the era in which Xu Zhen emerged on the contemporary international art scene as China’s representative at the 2001 Venice Biennale at the age of twenty-four.

In 2009 the artist founded MadeIn, an ‘art creation company’ that echoes China’s positioning as a global centre for the manufacturing of goods while also exploring the contested terrain between commercial production and artistic authenticity. This work – along with its companion 'Famille-Rose Olive Vase with Bat and Peach Design' -- resembles traditional Chinese porcelain in its materials and surface embellishment but takes on a new demeanour with its neck appearing to have bent or wilted.