Ran Li, current PhD candidate

Ceramicist

Media: Porcelain, handmade cobalt underglaze paint, clear glaze

Ran initially studied in a high school affiliated with the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China. Finishing first in her class, she was subsequently accepted for her BA at CAFA in their Fine Arts Oil Painting department, completing her studies in 2005. In 2010, she received a Diploma of Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, and in 2011 an MA from Camberwell College of Art, focusing on illustration. An interest in the traditional arts led her to the Prince’s Foundation, School of Traditional Arts where she completed a second MA, with Distinction, in 2016, and where she is currently a PhD researcher.

Ran’s research focuses on an exploration of the sophistication and subtlety of the blue and white porcelain produced during the High Qing period. Using museum and archival research at the Palace Museum in Beijing and other institutions in China and Japan, she identified exemplary High Qing pieces for close geometrical analysis and recreation. Her main ceramics practice is carried out in a traditional workshop in Jingdezhen where her participation brings insights into the depth and breadth of knowledge used to integrate the design and making processes that once resulted in the beauty reflected in Qing ceramics. Her aim is to bring this knowledge into contemporary ceramics to encourage the continuation of such practices in China today.