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Twenty years, ten editions

Twenty years after the first biennale, the International Modern Teapot Art Biennale returns for its tenth edition, in Wuxi, the city that is home to Yixing and its zisha clay.

More than 40 artists from more than 15 countries bring their teapots to the 2026 Biennale. Some of the works on show pour tea; others only suggest it. Together they ask what this familiar vessel can still say about the people, places and times that shape it.

Every work was selected by an international jury of 5 ceramic artists, chaired by Ge Jun, master of Chinese ceramic art.

The jury

Five ceramic artists from four continents selected the works shown at the tenth biennale.

  1. Chairman

    Ge Jun

    China

    Biography
  2. Juror

    Mami Kato

    Japan

    Biography
  3. Juror

    Karen Gunderman

    U.S.A.

    Biography
  4. Juror

    Christopher Davis-Benavides

    Peru / U.S.A.

    Biography
  5. Juror

    Mirta Morigi

    Italy

    Biography
Ge JunChairman · China

Credentials

  • Doctor · Professor
  • China Arts and Crafts Master
  • China Ceramic Art Master
  • China Ceramic Design Art Master
  • China Arts and Crafts Industry Art Master
  • Member, China Artists Association
  • Researcher, Chinese National Academy of Arts
  • Expert with outstanding contributions to China's ceramic science and technology
  • Director, Zisha Culture Research Center, China Ceramic Culture Research Institute
  • Internationally renowned master of ceramic culture and art, recognised by UNESCO

Chinese ceramic artist

For more than thirty years Ge Jun has devoted himself to the research, development and design of Yixing zisha clay. His original colour-decoration technique (色饰法) carried zisha art from tradition into a contemporary language.

His commissions range from the zisha door surround “Abundant Harvest” for the Great Hall of the People to teapots marking the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and successive national anniversaries. His work has taken more than forty national gold awards and over four hundred design patents, and is held by the Palace Museum, the National Art Museum of China and the Ziguang Pavilion at Zhongnanhai. He lectures and supervises graduate students at universities in China and abroad.

Mami KatoJuror · Japan

Credentials

  • Member, Mino Ceramic Association
  • Member, Japan Ceramic Association
  • Two-time Grand Prix winner, Mino Tea Bowl Exhibition

Japanese ceramic artist

Mami Kato studied the fundamentals of ceramics at the Tokoname Municipal Ceramic Art Institute. She first made practical ceramics rooted in tradition, and later developed her work into abstract expression in the form of vessels.

Her original glazes and singular worldview have brought her work into museum collections in Japan and abroad. She has twice taken the Grand Prix at the Mino Tea Bowl Exhibition — a distinction no other woman has achieved — and teaches, exchanges and leads workshops internationally.

Karen GundermanJuror · U.S.A.

Credentials

  • Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
  • Taught art and design at university level in Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan
  • Studio practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Ceramic artist and painter

Karen Gunderman is an artist living and working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After a long career teaching art and design at university level in Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan, she is now a full-time studio artist.

Her work in ceramics and painting draws on her experience of the natural world: form, colour, texture and design. She has exhibited widely at international level in China, Korea, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Portugal, Spain, Peru and the United States.

Christopher Davis-BenavidesJuror · Peru / U.S.A.

Credentials

  • Professor Emeritus of Art, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
  • Taught ceramics at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, 1998–2019
  • Studio practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Peruvian-born ceramic artist

Christopher Davis-Benavides is a Peruvian-born artist who works in ceramics from his studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is an Emeritus Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where he taught ceramics from 1998 to 2019.

He has exhibited across Europe and the Americas, including the international ceramics biennales of Manises and Aveiro and the CICA competition at l'Alcora. His work is held in museum and corporate collections in Spain, Hungary, Portugal, China, Peru and the United States.

Mirta MorigiJuror · Italy

Credentials

  • La Bottega Morigi, historic centre of Faenza
  • Member, International Academy of Ceramics (IAC), Geneva, since 2011
  • Work held in public and private collections worldwide

Italian ceramic artist

Mirta Morigi works from La Bottega Morigi, in the historic centre of Faenza. Modelled on the Renaissance workshop, it has become a place of meeting and exchange, open to artists, architects and designers.

Her ceramics are pop and unmistakable, their glazes dense and vibrant; her sculptural forms draw on a naturalistic bestiary of lizards, chameleons and tree frogs that become handles and grips. She has taken part in exchanges in ceramic cities from Australia to China, Korea, Japan and India, and has been a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) in Geneva since 2011.

The venue

Wuxi

Jiangsu Province, China

31.57° N · 120.30° E

Wuxi lies on the northern shore of Lake Tai. Yixing, part of Wuxi on the lake's western shore, is where zisha clay has been dug and shaped into teapots for centuries.

For the tenth edition, the biennale brings the modern teapot back to the place its most famous ancestors came from.

City
Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
Venue
Dangkou Ancient Town
Dates
18–23 November 2026
  • Whitewashed houses with dark tiled roofs and wooden upper floors, mirrored in still canal water
  • Stone steps over a small bridge into a lane of tiled-roof shops hung with banners
  • A narrow canal between weeping willows and ivy-covered white walls
  • A water-lily pond beside an arched stone bridge, edged with roses and weeping willows
  • A paved garden courtyard with outdoor tables, beside a wooden veranda hung with red lanterns
  • A lobby under exposed timber roof beams, with lattice screens and sofas on a polished stone floor

The artists

More than 40 artists from more than 15 countries. Select a portrait to see the artist and the work they present.

Curator’s foreword

Twenty years ago, the International Modern Teapot Art Biennale began with a simple belief: art grows through dialogue, and culture flourishes through mutual understanding.

Since then, the biennale has brought together ceramic artists from different countries and traditions, creating a space for exchange, friendship, collaboration and artistic discovery. Across borders and cultures, the teapot has become more than an object: it has become a vessel for connection.

The 10th International Modern Teapot Art Biennale marks both a celebration of this journey and the beginning of a new chapter.

Under the theme “Connecting the world through clay”, this edition explores the contemporary teapot as a bridge between tradition and innovation, art and everyday life, East and West, and the present and the future.

Guided by the values of openness, inclusiveness, collaboration and sharing, we remain committed to building a vibrant and sustainable international platform for ceramic culture.

We warmly welcome artists, scholars, museums, institutions, collectors and all those who share a passion for ceramic art to join us, connecting through creativity and shaping the future together.

Anna ZhangCurator, International Modern Teapot Art BiennaleFounder, International Ceramic Culture Platform