This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, but for Taiwanese glass artist Loretta H. Yang, it also is the 20th anniversary of her friendship with French glass art master Antoine Leperlier.

Antoine Leperlier's works on show at the exhibition Photos: Courtesy of the museum

Yang, a former Golden Horse Award-winning film actress, turned to making glass with her husband, film director Chang Yi, in 1987, and was one of the featured artists at a biennial glass art event in 1994. It was there that she  met Leperlier.

"He has always been a model for me, and this significant glass artist, who has elevated the making of glass from a craftsmanship to an artistic expression of himself, has been a great inspiration for me," said Yang at the opening ceremony of Leperlier's solo exhibition in Shanghai Wednesday. The two artists are both known for using "the pâte-de-verre technique," which involves making a paste of glass and applying it to a mold.

French glass artist Antoine Leperlier

Leperlier, who was made a Maître d'Art by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication in 1994, inherited the pâte-de-verre technique from his grandfather, François Décorchemont, a celebrated glass master who was an innovator in the art in the early 20th century. 

Antoine Leperlier's works on show at the exhibition Photos: Courtesy of the museum

The exhibition on show at Liuli China Museum in Tianzifang is entitled Stop the Time. It  showcases 15 glassworks from Leperlier's latest series Flux et Fixe, which continues the artist's meditations on life.

"Time keeps moving on, leaving our past further and further behind us. However, there are always some moments we want to remember and cherish forever," Leperlier said regarding the thoughts behind the exhibition.

Inside the square-shaped transparent glass blocks on exhibit, visitors can see sealed-in colored glass in flowing and bursting shapes that reveal an enthusiasm and passion of life.

Antoine Leperlier's works on show at the exhibition Photos: Courtesy of the museum

The series also showcases the artist's new technique in which he seals both glass and ceramics in the glass blocks.

The works also feature quotes from writers including James Joyce and Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller.

Leperlier said that specializing in  glass has given him greater artistic freedom than he could have found with traditional sculpture materials such as marble or metal, and it has allowed him to express his thoughts more subtly and poetically, in the same manner as the writers quoted in the exhibition.

A glass landscape made by François Décorchemont

Also on view at the exhibition are antique glass works by several pioneering and prestigious glass masters from France, among them Émile Gallé, who is widely regarded as one of the earliest glass artists in the world; Amaleric Walter, who is famous for his vivid animal figures; and François Décorchemont.

Date: Until September 7, 10 pm to 5 pm (closed on Mondays)

Venue: Liuli China Museum

琉璃艺术博物馆

Address: 25 Taikang Road

泰康路25号

Tickets: 20 yuan

Call 6467-2268 for details