Art piece by Han Chang. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Artist Han Chang held an exhibition at China and France cultural exchange organization Yishu 8 in Beijing from Dec 1 to 24.

The exhibition featured over 20 jewelry pieces Han designed under five series.

In 2021, the artist won the "ingenuity of the hand" award founded in 2019 by Yishu 8 and the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation's Golden Phoenix fund, which aims at helping and supporting handicraft art. In 2021, 14 artists were nominated in the competition and four stood out, including Han.

As the winner, Han got the opportunity to spend three months in Paris as part of an artist-in-residence program of Cite internationale des arts (an artists' residency founded in 1965 and which encourages cross-cultural dialogue and provides a place where artists can meet with the public and other professionals) from January to March in 2022, working with artists and scholars, as well as holding his exhibition.

He visited museums, such as Musee Rodin, the Louvre, Musee Galliera and galleries.

Han also had the opportunity to interact with artists in France and held an "open studio" event for the public and professionals to show his works.

In one of the series displayed during the exhibition in Beijing, Han showcased his art works inspired by his three-month stay in France.

"Jewelry design has been evolving. In Han's art works, he keeps the traditional techniques of jewelry design and pushes boundaries with his own ideas," says Sun Jie, a professor of the Tongji University College of Design and Innovation, mentioning that one of the series, Zhen Guan, saw Han combining the pattern of the armor of soldiers during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) with his design.