Page 8 - BSAM 2015 Q3

Examples of Gong Linmin’s painting style on pots.
The Shanghai Bonsai Association enlisted Gong to make a limited edition of 200 pots to celebrate 2000, the new millennium. At that time, he carefully selected some of the finest sand in Yixing, the famous center for the production of fine pots in China. This clay, after firing, develops a shiny surface on the pot. Over a period of six months of testing and experimenting, he developed a marvelous piece “Millennium Dragon-Phoenix Flower Pot” measuring 22 cm in diameter. The pot is decorated with two abstract phoenix patterns that imply happiness.
His commissions have included tea pots as well as bonsai and flower pots. In 2001, he worked with ceramics master Shen Juechu from Shanghai to make two red porcelain tea pots. Gong designed the pots while Shen painted and carved them. These tea pots were presented to a visiting Japanese tea master who performed a tea ceremony in Shanghai.
Gong’s skills and abilities have been recognized repeatedly over the last decade that has resulted in many awards for his excellent pots. In 2008, his piece titled “Nest” won the award Best of the Best in China’s Arts and Crafts in the Tenth Exhibition for China’s Arts and Crafts. The following year, 2009, his ceramic art named “Ping Gai Po” was also awarded the Best of the Best during the Eleventh Exhibition for China’s Arts and Crafts Festival. Three years later, Mr. Gong once again was award the Best of the Best award for his piece “Catnap” in the fourteenth arts and crafts exhibition.
More recently, Gong Linmin conducted demonstrations of his ceramic artistry at major bonsai conventions. He was displaying his pot making skills at the Asian Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention (ASPAC) in Takamatsu, Japan in 2011. In 2013, Gong fashioned beautiful bonsai pots at the Bonsai Clubs international (BCI) convention in Yangzhou, China. This was done in an outdoor setting next to several of the world’s leading bonsai and opening artists. Later that year, Gong conducted another excellent demonstration at the World Bonsai Friendship Federation convention in Jintan, China. His creativity in the ceramic arts was on full display at the later 2014 BCI convention in the Gold Coast, Australia. BCI members will have an opportunity to see Gong in action and meet with him at our 2015
6 | BCI | July/August/September 2015