CNTRFLD. You're currently spending time in Jingdezhen exploring ceramics, not as part of a formal residency but simply because you wanted to slow down, experiment and learn. After working extensively with large-scale kinetic installations, what has this period of making taught you about the importance of stepping back and beginning again?
BR. 大型公共艺术与机械装置确实令人兴奋，但它们也极其消耗能量。我常开玩笑说：一个大项目通常只有在灵感爆发的那一刻感到幸福，以及最终落地的那一瞬感到欣慰，中间99%的过程都是巨大的拉扯、博弈与妥协。你需要跟无数的人、甲方、供应链、场地和技术限制打交道。来到景德镇做陶艺，对我来说是一次急需的 “能量回填” 。在这里，我重新回到了仅凭自己的双手就能直接感知、塑造和控制材料的状态。泥土的触感非常诚实，没有任何复杂的外部接口和繁复的协调。这种最纯粹的劳作让我感到踏实、安心且无比幸福。
Large-scale public artworks and mechanical installations are certainly exciting, but they are also incredibly draining. I often joke that the only happy moment in a major project is the initial burst of inspiration, followed by a brief sense of relief when the work is finally completed. The other ninety-nine per cent of the process is consumed by tension, negotiation and compromise. You have to deal with countless people, commissioners, supply chains, venues and technical constraints.
Coming to Jingdezhen to work with ceramics has been a much-needed opportunity to recharge. Here, I have returned to a way of working in which I can feel, shape and control materials directly with my own hands. There is something profoundly honest about the feel of clay. There are no complicated intermediaries or endless coordination. This pure, direct form of making leaves me feeling grounded, at ease and incredibly happy.
CNTRFLD. You're now based in London, while continuing to work internationally. What is it about London that continues to make it feel like the right place to live and build a practice? And how do you balance maintaining connections with China while navigating an increasingly global career?
BR. 伦敦拥有极其成熟且充满活力的非营利机构生态与学术土壤，这里能够为实验性、非商业性的探索提供深厚的养分，这是它目前无法被取代的优势。而中国则是另一个正在崛起的充满活力、高速发展的市场，更是我的家乡，那里有着极度高效成熟的工业制造体系和落地能力。我的理想状态是结合两者的优势——用中国的工业制造活力去实现构想，同时在欧美吸取前沿的艺术观念。但现实往往十分残酷，眼下在中英之间的频繁奔波确实是个巨大的身心挑战，你的时间会被切得极度细碎，很难长时间进行深入的创作并打磨作品。作为艺术家，我目前最渴望的是能在一个地方沉下心来、没有严苛DDL地打磨作品。
London has an incredibly well-established and vibrant ecosystem of non-profit institutions, alongside a strong intellectual environment that provides rich support for experimental, non-commercial artistic exploration. This is what makes the city irreplaceable to me. China, on the other hand, is a dynamic and rapidly developing emerging market, as well as my home. It also has an exceptionally efficient and sophisticated industrial manufacturing system, with an extraordinary ability to turn ideas into reality.
Ideally, I would combine the strengths of both: drawing on China’s manufacturing capabilities to realise my ideas while absorbing contemporary artistic thinking from Europe and the United States. The reality, however, is often more difficult.
Constantly travelling between China and the UK is physically and emotionally exhausting. My time becomes so fragmented that it is difficult to concentrate on a project or refine a work over an extended period. As an artist, what I long for most right now is the opportunity to settle in one place and develop my work without the pressure of relentless deadlines.
CNTRFLD. Throughout your career you've worked with museums, galleries, universities and independent organisations across several countries, and you've also taught and mentored emerging artists. Looking back, what kinds of support—or particular people or communities—have made the biggest difference to your journey? Equally, where do you think the contemporary art world could better support emerging artists today?
BR. 这个问题真是太“难”回答了。因为我认为重要的改变我的支持实在是太多了。我由衷的感激这一路走来认可我作品给予我机会的每一个人，于是越写越长，。但如果一定要我选，我首先想重点感谢三个机构，按照时间顺序，我想要感谢中国的UCCA，我在22年参加了一个他们举办的新锐艺术家的比赛。当时我还在上学，不认识任何艺术圈的人，我就很奇怪说那些艺术圈的人事怎么开始他们的事业的，如果你谁也不认识这真的很难开始。那个比赛是我在中国正式接触艺术圈的第一站，给我推开了一扇门，第一次让中国的艺术圈里出现了我的名字，也让我认识了Liu Xueli，她之后又找到我做了跟absolut vodka和andy warhol foundation的委任。其次我很感激theColab，这是我研究生毕业之后的第一站。同时在这里也是我人生中第一个公共雕塑的委任。alice和claire几乎陪我走过了一个公共艺术作品委任所需的所有流程，从资金的申请，落地制作，安装布展，给了我之后做无数委任装置的底气，给我了一个很好的示范，她们告诉我艺术家是应该有艺术家费的，告诉我女艺术家也应该用姓氏指代像其他男艺术家一样。同时我也很感谢saatchi gallery，这是我人生的转折点，我永远都会对lily waterton心怀感激，除非我昏迷失忆。我真的很感谢她看到了我并给了我如此大的机会，这是我成为了职业艺术家的第一步，没有lily和saatchi的信任，就不会有后面所有的一切。当然我也很想感激后面跟我比较深度合作过的画廊，比如carl kostyal和中国的马刺画廊，很谢谢carl、sherry和Jia Wei的赏识。我感觉我这一路要感谢支持的人实在是太多…我选不出来一个“最”。对了，还有海牙美术馆，策展人Suzanne让我看到了一个梦想中的美术馆体系该有的运转模式，健康积极的团队工作氛围让我深受触动。意大利pinacoteca的委任也让我看到了独属于意大利女人的坚韧不拔，当时我们的制作遇到了很多的困难，但是从馆长到director没有一个人说要放弃，即使展览都开幕了Elena还继续跟我这边沟通，想办法让作品达到最佳的效果，没有她的坚持和馆长的支持就没有作品最后的呈现。我还想感谢丹麦VS的团队，谢谢dudii和跟我对接Allegra，tamsin。当时我好几个项目的ddl大撞车，应接不暇非常焦虑，开幕的时候在亭子前面哭，tamsin一边指挥open day现场一边还抽空安慰我。现在想想感觉自己干了不少蠢事，但还是谢谢大家没有嫌弃我。
艺术学校里交给年轻艺术该如何成为职业艺术家的部分实在太有限。这所有的一切都是我在学校之外遇到的“老师们”教会我的。他们给予我无条件的信任，包容我所有的幼稚和不成熟，在我犯错或者应接不暇的时候宽恕我并继续支持。抱歉没能在这里提到的许多人，我由衷的感谢你的支持。
关于第二问题，就当代艺术系统而言，我认为年轻艺术家（Emerging Artists）最需要的是切实、透明的“艺术家费（Artist Fees）”保障，而不是虚无缥缈的“曝光机会”。很多商业机构和画廊不应该为了短期的经济利益过度透支年轻艺术家的精力与创作寿命，真正的支持应当是建立在对艺术家长期生态的呵护之上。
This question is incredibly difficult to answer because so many people have supported me in ways that genuinely changed my life. I am deeply grateful to everyone who believed in my work and gave me opportunities along the way. The more I write, the longer the list becomes. If I had to choose, I would begin by thanking three institutions in chronological order.
The first is UCCA in China. In 2022, I participated in a competition they organised for emerging artists. At the time, I was still a student and did not know anyone in the art world. I always wondered how people even began their careers in this field because, when you do not know anyone, it can feel almost impossible to find a way in. That competition was my first real introduction to the Chinese art world. It opened a door, brought my name into that community for the first time and introduced me to Liu Xueli, who later invited me to work on a commission with Absolut Vodka and the Andy Warhol Foundation.
The second is theColab, which was my first major opportunity after graduating and the organisation that commissioned my first public sculpture. Alice and Claire guided me through almost every stage involved in a public art commission, from applying for funding to production, installation and exhibition. That experience gave me the confidence to take on the many commissioned installations that followed. They showed me what a supportive collaboration could look like. They taught me that artists should be paid artist fees, and that women artists should be referred to by their surnames, just like their male counterparts.
I am also enormously grateful to Saatchi Gallery. That exhibition was a turning point in my life, and I will always be grateful to Lily Waterton, unless I somehow fall into a coma and lose my memory. I am genuinely thankful that she saw something in me and gave me such an extraordinary opportunity. It was my first real step towards becoming a professional artist. Without the trust of Lily and Saatchi Gallery, everything that followed might never have happened.
I also want to thank the galleries with which I later worked closely, including Carl Kostyál and Spurs Gallery in China. I am very grateful to Carl, Sherry and Jia Wei for believing in my work. There are simply too many people who have supported me throughout this journey for me to single out one as the most important.
And then there is Kunstmuseum Den Haag. Its curator, Suzanne, showed me what my dream of a museum should look like in practice. I was deeply moved by the healthy, supportive and positive atmosphere within the team.
My commission with Pinacoteca Agnelli in Italy also showed me the remarkable determination of Italian women. We encountered many difficulties during production, but no one on the museum’s leadership team ever suggested giving up. Even after the exhibition had opened, Elena continued working with me to find ways to bring the piece to its best possible state. Without her persistence and the museum director’s support, the work would never have been presented in its final form.
I also want to thank the VS team in Denmark, especially Dudii, Allegra and Tamsin. At the time, several major project deadlines collided, and I was completely overwhelmed and anxious. I ended up crying in front of the pavilion during the opening, and Tamsin somehow found time to comfort me while simultaneously coordinating the entire open day. Looking back, I feel as though I did quite a few silly things, but I am grateful that everyone put up with me anyway.
Art schools teach young artists very little about how to become professional artists. Everything I have described here was taught to me by the “teachers” I encountered outside the classroom. They trusted me unconditionally, tolerated my immaturity and inexperience, forgave me when I made mistakes or became overwhelmed, and continued to support me. To the many people I have not been able to mention here, please know that I am sincerely grateful for your support.
As for the second part of the question, I believe that what emerging artists need most from the contemporary art system is a clear commitment to fair and transparent artist fees, rather than vague promises of “exposure”. Commercial organisations and galleries should not exhaust young artists or shorten their creative lives in pursuit of short-term financial gain. Genuine support must be grounded in protecting an artist’s long-term development and wellbeing.
CNTRFLD. Your practice seems to be entering a new chapter, with ceramics opening fresh possibilities while still holding onto the playful, kinetic language that has become synonymous with your work. What ideas, materials or questions are currently exciting you most, and what can we look forward to over the coming year?
BR. 是的！是的！我目前正在探索如何将陶瓷、玻璃与我原本的动态机械语言进行跨媒介的结合。传统手作材料的温润、偶然性，与机械装置的冷酷、重复律动碰撞在一起，会产生非常奇妙的张力。这对我来说是一个全新的实验场，虽然需要大量的时间去试错和摸索，但我对即将呈现的新语言感到非常兴奋。
Yes! Yes! I am currently exploring how to combine ceramics and glass with the kinetic, mechanical language of my existing work. There is a fascinating tension when the warmth and unpredictability of traditional handmade materials collide with the cold, repetitive rhythms of mechanical installations. This is entirely new experimental territory for me. Although it will take considerable time to explore and involve plenty of trial and error, I am incredibly excited about the new artistic language beginning to emerge.
CNTRFLD. Finally, many of our readers are artists at the very beginning of their own journeys, often trying to navigate uncertainty, financial realities and self-doubt. Based on everything you've experienced so far, what advice would you offer someone hoping to build a sustainable and fulfilling life as an artist?
BR. 老实说，我至今也在与这种不确定性激烈抗争，我也常常处在焦虑与生存压力的边缘。如果哪位读者有真正可持续的解法，请务必也告诉我！但作为年轻一代的创作者，我唯一能分享的经验是：充分利用互联网和社交媒体。 在今天，你不一定非要等待昂贵的画廊代理或在顶级街区办展才能被看见。网络为我们提供了前所未有的自传播机会，你可以零成本地向全球的观众、藏家和机构展示你的创作过程与思考。拥抱这个时代，把自己当作自己的代表（Be your own representation），主动去构建属于你自己的发声阵地。
Honestly, I am still struggling with this uncertainty myself, often finding myself overwhelmed by anxiety and the pressure of simply making a living. If any of your readers have a genuinely sustainable solution, please tell me! But as a young artist, the one piece of advice I can offer is this: make full use of the internet and social media.
Today, you do not necessarily have to wait for gallery representation or exhibit in an expensive, prestigious neighbourhood for your work to be seen. The internet offers unprecedented opportunities to share your creative process and ideas with audiences, collectors and institutions around the world, all without spending a penny.
Embrace the age we live in. Be your own representation and actively build a platform where your voice can be heard.
CNTRFLD. Your work often appears playful and effortless, yet our conversation revealed just how much persistence, negotiation and invisible labour sits behind every exhibition. What's something about being an artist that you wish more people understood—but rarely gets talked about?
BR. 太痛苦了 生活里有太多的痛苦了 我没有什么可以教导别人的。但我坚信，能够克服恐惧、勇敢地把最真实的感受表达出来——无论是什么——这本身就已经是属于人类的一首赞歌。
It is painful. Life is filled with so much suffering, and I have no great lessons to offer anyone. But I firmly believe that overcoming fear and finding the courage to express our most genuine feelings, whatever they may be, is itself a hymn to humanity.
