Tearpot

Johnson Tsang’s “Tearpot” reimagines the domestic teapot as a quasi-functional work of sculpture. The bust of a man with a furrowed brow forms the body of the teapot. Slits in his nearly-shut eyes secrete liquid when the vessel is put to use, creating the impression of tears and suggesting pain, sadness, or discomfort, perhaps inflicted by the dragon, a common motif in Tsang’s work, that hovers at the back of the figure’s bald head. With its serpentine body, the dragon forms the handle of the vessel. Tsang’s naturalistic rendering of the man, with his white, skin-like bisque finish, is contrasted against the surreal presence of the glossy, blue-glazed dragon.