THE RIGHT SHAPE

The Right Shape 适形 Craft China-UK Joint Exhibition x Alsolike Gallery

Date: 2 August - 1 September 2024

China Venue: Arthology, 19 Kaiyuan Road, Zhengzhou, China

UK Venue: Alsolike Gallery, 16 Chance Street, London, UK E2 7JB

Programme Director: Alice Fan Shi

Curator: Yunxia Jiang

The Right Shape 适形 is a China–UK collaborative exhibition of contemporary British metalwork, presented across two venues:

• China Venue: Arthology, 19 Kaiyuan Road, Zhengzhou, China

• UK Venue: Alsolike Gallery, 16 Chance Street, London, UK E2 7JB

This exhibition showcases five exceptional British artists whose practices redefine the balance between aesthetic form and functional purpose. As a rare presentation of British craft in China, the Zhengzhou chapter features works by Ana Christensen, Angela Cork, Caiyang Yin, Jessica Jue, and Sheng Zhang.

The title, The Right Shape, draws from the dual meaning of the Chinese term “适形”: both the “appropriate form” and the “correct, fitting shape.” It reflects how each artist brings metal into its ideal state through precise craftsmanship, intuitive design, and material sensitivity.

All five artists are recognised figures within the British craft field. Their works have been featured at Collect, the leading international fair for contemporary craft and design, and they are regular participants in the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Fair. Ana Christensen and Sheng Zhang have works in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, while Angela Cork has received multiple national awards for her refined, functional designs. Caiyang Yin and Jessica Jue represent a new generation of makers, whose practices elegantly merge Eastern and Western aesthetics in their contemporary interpretations of traditional metalwork.

Together, these artists demonstrate that “the right shape” is not only a matter of visual harmony, but also of how an object performs, occupies space, and integrates into everyday life. Their work affirms the enduring vitality of contemporary craft, shaping metal not just into beautiful objects, but into forms that live and work.

This China–UK collaborative exhibition is jointly presented by Arthology and Alsolike Gallery, taking place simultaneously in Zhengzhou, China and London, UK. Through this cross-border dialogue, the exhibition fosters a deeper understanding of British contemporary metalwork within both Eastern and Western cultural contexts, creating a shared platform for material-based practices and international craft discourse.