Sculpture

Guan Donghai (b.1970) is a pioneer of studio glass art in China. Started as a watercolour artist, he was one of the first supervisors of the glass programme at the School of Arts and Design at the prestigeous Tsinghua University. In 2003 he received his master’s degree in glass art from Wolverhampton, later Doctoral degree from Sunderland, then returned to China where he is now Professor on Tsinghua’s glass programme.

The Pagoda was one of Guan’s earliest works, made for his degree show at Wolverhampton. Featuring the pagoda with a rustic texture and a vulnerable yet solemn form, the object conveys a strong awareness of identity. Guan often finds inspiration from ritual objects of early dynasties such as bronzes, burial stone carvings, ancient structures such as city gates, pagodas and alike.