Liuli Gongfang

Liuli Gongfang, also written Liuligongfang, is a Taiwanese contemporary glass-art studio and brand devoted to artistic objects made from liuli, a term associated with historic Chinese glasswork. It was founded in 1987 by actress Loretta Yang and film director Chang Yi. Rather than using the more common modern Chinese term for glass, boli, the founders chose liuli to emphasize the cultural and historical lineage of their work and to distinguish their practice from ordinary commercial glass production. The studio emerged from an effort to revive Chinese art-glass traditions that had declined substantially after the First and Second Opium Wars. Yang and Chang sought to reconnect contemporary artistic production with antique Chinese glassmaking while also adapting techniques that could support complex sculptural forms. Their initial operation was a two-person workshop in Tamsui, in what was then Taipei County and is now part of New Taipei City. The early development period involved extensive experimentation before the studio successfully mastered the French pâte-de-verre, or lost-wax glass-casting, process. Yang concentrated primarily on artistic direction, while Chang handled finance and other business responsibilities. The founders' partnership has been central to the brand's identity. After Chang suffered a heart attack in 1997, Yang assumed additional managerial and public-facing responsibilities, including contact with the media. The studio subsequently developed beyond its origins as a small workshop into an internationally recognized art-glass brand, with works exhibited and collected in Taiwan, Japan, mainland China, Europe, and the United States. Liuli Gongfang's output is centered on cast-glass sculpture and related artistic glassware rather than mass-market household glass. Its works commonly draw on Chinese cultural imagery, symbolism, philosophy, spirituality, nature, and ceremonial themes, although the available reference material does not establish a complete catalog of named collections. The brand's pieces have entered private, corporate, museum, and institutional collections. Publicly cited holdings include the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Palace Museum in Beijing's Forbidden City, the Shanghai Fine Arts Museum, the Tsui Museum of Art in Hong Kong, Medicine Buddha Temple in Nara, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Bowers Museum in California. The studio's works have also been used as diplomatic, commemorative, and ceremonial gifts. One cited diplomatic exchange involved People First Party chairman James Soong presenting a Liuli Gongfang sculpture to Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao during Soong's visit to mainland China; Hu reportedly presented Jingdezhen porcelain in return. Such uses reflect the brand's position at the intersection of contemporary design, cultural heritage, collecting, and cultural diplomacy. Liuli Gongfang is therefore best understood not simply as a decorative-goods label but as an artist-led glass studio with a strong cultural mission. Its significance rests on combining a revived Chinese concept of artistic glass with the technical possibilities of lost-wax casting and an international exhibition and collecting presence. Current ownership, corporate structure, precise headquarters, and detailed present-day operating figures are not established by the supplied sources.

Liuli Gongfang was established in Taiwan in 1987 by actress Loretta Yang and director Chang Yi. The founders named the studio after liuli, a term connected with archaic Chinese glasswork, rather than boli, the ordinary modern word for glass. This choice expressed their intention to recover a specifically Chinese cultural tradition and to create contemporary work within that historical framework. The studio was created against a background in which Chinese art-glass production had diminished after the First and Second Opium Wars. Yang and Chang attempted to rebuild a viable practice through experimentation with glass materials, molds, and casting. Their earliest operation was a two-person workshop in Tamsui, then part of Taipei County and now within New Taipei City. The development process lasted more than three years before they were able to master the French pâte-de-verre, or lost-wax casting, method needed for their sculptural work. The founders initially divided responsibilities closely. Yang led the artistic side of the enterprise, while Chang managed financial and business matters. Chang's heart attack in 1997 altered that arrangement, and Yang took on a broader range of responsibilities, including business duties and media relations. This transition reinforced the studio's association with Yang as both an artist and a public representative. Over time, Liuli Gongfang expanded from its small workshop origins into an internationally exhibited studio and brand. Its works have been shown in Taiwan, Japan, mainland China, Europe, and the United States. Pieces have entered private and corporate collections as well as the permanent collections of museums and cultural institutions. Cited institutional collections include the Victoria and Albert Museum in the United Kingdom, the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Shanghai Fine Arts Museum, the Tsui Museum of Art in Hong Kong, Medicine Buddha Temple in Nara, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Bowers Museum in California. The brand's works have also circulated beyond the art market as diplomatic, ceremonial, and commemorative objects. A cited example is a Liuli Gongfang sculpture presented by People First Party chairman James Soong to Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao during Soong's mainland China visit. Hu reportedly responded with Jingdezhen porcelain. These exchanges illustrate how the studio's work has been treated as a vehicle for cultural representation as well as an art object. Liuli Gongfang's historical identity consequently combines technical revival, contemporary sculpture, and cultural diplomacy. The supplied sources do not provide a complete account of its later corporate organization, retail network, current leadership, or recent collections. Those aspects require additional authoritative documentation.

• 1997

  Yang assumes expanded responsibilities

  [1]Liuli Gongfangen.wikipedia.org

  Following Chang Yi's heart attack, Loretta Yang took on additional business and media responsibilities alongside her artistic role.

• 1990

  Successful development of lost-wax glass casting

  [1]Liuli Gongfangen.wikipedia.org

  After more than three years of experimentation, the studio mastered the French pâte-de-verre process used for its sculptural glass production.

• 1987

  Studio founded in Taiwan

  [1]Liuli Gongfangen.wikipedia.org

  Loretta Yang and Chang Yi founded Liuli Gongfang as a contemporary studio dedicated to artistic Chinese glass.

An artist-led Taiwanese studio positioned around the revival and contemporary reinterpretation of Chinese artistic glass, with a focus on collectible sculpture, cultural symbolism, craftsmanship, and institutional recognition.

• Contemporary glass sculpture · 1987

  Liuli sculptural artworks

  The studio's core offering is collectible cast-glass sculpture made through the pâte-de-verre, or lost-wax, method. These works reinterpret Chinese artistic-glass traditions in contemporary forms and may incorporate themes drawn from cultural symbolism, spirituality, philosophy, nature, and ceremonial life. They are produced as art objects rather than ordinary utility glass and have been acquired by private collectors, corporations, museums, and cultural institutions.

1. 1Liuli Gongfangen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Liuli Gongfang collections and institutional presencebusinessweekly.com.tw
3. 3Liuligongfang official websiteliuli.com.tw