Award-winning embroidery artist debuts new works

The solo exhibition Sew the Weft and Warp Threads by embroidery artist Diao Juan, winner of last year's "Hand of Wisdom" award presented by the Sino-French crafts exchange program, opened on April 25 at Yishu 8 in Beijing.

Diao received the award last year and subsequently undertook a residency in Paris, followed by a research visit to Cognac. After nearly a year of experimentation and reflection, the exhibition brings together a body of work shaped by her overseas experiences and evolving artistic practice.

A highlight of the show is Repair (2026), inspired by mulberry bark paper discovered in Paris' Marais district. The work explores the dialogue between fragile materials and gold thread, forming the conceptual basis for a broader series titled Repair — Experiment (2025), which is also on view. These works merge Cantonese gold couching techniques with Sichuan embroidery, while embracing a more intuitive and less structured creative process.

In contrast, Luminous Flow (2026) reinterprets traditional embroidery through explorations of light, movement and dye. Using Sichuan stitching techniques to render wave-like forms, the work builds layered visual rhythms that suggest motion and depth through thread and color.

Another series, Paris Memory, translates scenes from Diao's life in Paris into embroidered works scaled like Polaroid photographs, depicting locations such as the Louvre Pyramid and the Hennessy cellar in Cognac. The works adopt a pointillist, bead-like stitching method that echoes Impressionist sensibilities.

"I gradually came to understand that between the craftsperson and the material, there exists something that transcends time. It is not found in technique or pattern, but in the countless repeated motions of threading a needle — where the maker leaves a part of their own life within the work," Diao said.

Launched in 2019, the "Hand of Wisdom" Sino-French crafts exchange program selects one young Chinese craft practitioner each year for study and exchange opportunities in France. Supported by cultural foundations and international partners, the initiative aims to foster dialogue between Chinese craftsmanship and global contemporary art practices.

At the opening ceremony, Yishu 8 founder Christine Cayol and representatives from Chinese and French cultural institutions attended the event. Curators and organizers highlighted Diao's work as reflecting a renewed understanding of craft, where process, material and memory remain central to contemporary embroidery practice.