Exhibition of Embroidered Jewellery by Nien Pi-hua

December 20, 2020

Exhibition of Embroidered Jewellery by Nien Pi-hua

Dates of Exhibition:

25 February to 8 April 1992

Venue:

Culture Gallery, West Side of Main Passenger Hall, Taipei Railway Station

Organised by:

Council for Cultural Planning and Development, Executive Yuan

Embroidery is one of the traditional handicrafts of China. Judging by silk paintings and embroideries recovered from ancient tombs in recent decades, the art of embroidery in China can be supposed to have a history going back two or three thousand years. From its earliest beginnings through the Sui, T'ang and Five Dynasties period (A.D. 581 to 960), embroidery was mainly used as a functional decoration. By the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1279). however, embroidery underwent a transformation whereby it was elevated into the realm of pure art, no longer serving simply as a decoration for clothing of furniture but imitating paintings and works of calligraphy by noted artists for the delectation of connoisseurs. This took embroidery into a whole new realm.

As time went by and progress was made in terms of materials, techniques and concepts, embroidery attained a wider scope of influence. Particularly since its fusing with the arts of painting and calligraphy, embroidery has developed into an independent art with an outstanding folk tradition. Once mounted and framed, it can complement and beautify our living surroundings to perfection. But dramatic changes in society have meant that traditional embroidery has been superseded by fast machine-stitched embroidery, with the result that embroidery as a living tradition has fallen on hard times. At a time when this traditional handicraft is generally neglected, it is a pleasure to discover that one artist has been quietly toiling away, researching traditional embroidery techniques, combining classical forms with modern aesthetic concepts, devising innovative "embroidery jewellery", and developing jewellery designs in precious metals which display a wealth of formal beauty — in short, opening up a whole new world of jewellery. That person is Nien Pi-hua, who stands at the forefront of the art of embroidery in the ROC today.

Hailing from Lukang, in western Taiwan, MS Nien took up embroidery twenty years ago, studied traditional Chinese needlework methods, and fused that heritage with modern aesthetic concepts to produce her original "embroidered jewellery".

In her wonderfully skilled hands, "embroidered jewellery" has broken through conventional patterns and forms and improved upon age-old traditional styles in a range of embroidered necklaces. Combining designs of Chinese knotting and bronze ware, she has succeeded in making two-dimensional embroidery into a three-dimensional art form. Not only has Ms Nien's embroidery broken the mould of traditional designs and shapes, it also reveals her individual feeling for colour combinations, while with all its evocation of antiquity it never loses a firm hold on the pulse of modernity.

For Ms Nien, any attractive object she comes across can serve as her subject-matter or as a source of inspiration — decorative designs on jades, patterns on bronzes, flowers, scenery, or folk stories, all can spark off Nien Pi-hua's rich imagination. Her work sometimes imitates Warring States jades in their lustrous beauty, sometimes adopts Indian colouration with its attractive mystery, or may take the form of dragons scaling the clouds, or of floral arrangements. Her inventive imagination, her purity and elegance of taste, the freshness of her use of colour, and her mastery of needlework, provide endless sources of delight and make her embroidery something to treasure.

In order to broaden her horizons in the field of embroidery, Nien Pi-hua has thoroughly mastered the principles of embroidery and blended its forms and colours with those of metalwork jewellery. In 1989, in order to gain an appreciation of various foreign techniques and styles, Ms Nien went to England study at London's Royal College of Art, where she specialised in metalwork jewellery design. This opened up new avenues in her own art and she returned to Taiwan confident that she had made a significant breakthrough in the application of embroidery methods to metalwork jewellery. While drawing upon traditional auspicious designs she also introduced appropriate changes to emphasise the modernity of her embroidery style.

Ever eager for novelty and innovative change, Nien Pi-hua has not only given a new lease of life to the beauty of Chinese traditional culture, she has also drawn her material from life and used her imaginative design concept to design a range of modern metalwork jewellery which exploits the very soul of each precious metal, allowing plain metal to display its unique spiritual air. The charm of this jewellery is utterly different from traditional gems, for each piece is like a miniature sculpture, not just a body adornment but a dainty and independent work of art with all the uniqueness of an individual designer's style.

The Chinese handicraft of embroidery has a lont history of development and many glorious achievements behind it. How that art may be extended, advanced and adapted to modern society are questions of deep concern to anyone who genuinely enjoys the beauty of Nien Pi-hug's works.