Current Exhibition Foundation: Summer Show Modern society values efficiency and results: we chart success by numbers and profit through mass production. The tradition of craft art seems an anomaly but is actually as essential as ever. The legacy shared by craft artisans, the artist’s connection with his material, interaction between audience and the finished craft artwork—these relationships sustain a heritage that would otherwise be lost. The process of handcrafted art requires patience, time, intuition and an attunement with the materials being used. There is an earthy element to the process—utilizing materials composed of fire, wood, water, metal and earth—yet what is created is transcendental, touching at the very heart of what it means to be human. Foundation: Summer Show features artists representing the emergent world of contemporary functional art in China. Some utilize ancient techniques contextualized in our modern times; others experiment with new methods using traditional materials and themes. The result is beauty that harks back to ‘what was’ yet presses on and beckons ‘what is to come.’ This exhibit runs from July 3rd to August 25th. About twocities twocities is one of the few galleries in China that specializes in contemporary three-dimensional art. Our gallery represents Chinese artists pioneering in glass, metal, ceramic, and wood and lacquer. The glass artists we work with are considered the first generation of contemporary glass artists in China. These artists come from an academic studio art movement, studying and teaching fine arts at schools such as Shanghai University, Nanjing Art Institute, Qing Hua University, the Central Academy for the Arts and the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute. Artists represented include Qiao Shi Guang, father of the modern wood and lacquer movement in China; Zhuang Xiao Wei, leader of the studio glass movement in China; Chen Guang Hui, a pioneering artist in the modern ceramics field; and Guo Xin, an established jewelry artist promoting jewelry as art in China.