21/07/2022 (Thursday) – 18/08/2022 (Friday)

Monday to Friday:
10am – 1pm
2pm – 5pm

Level 1, 151 Castlereagh St
Sydney NSW 2000

This is a free exhibition.

Please email info@cccsydney.org for group tour.

Since the Qing dynasty, Su embroidery（苏绣）from Suzhou region, Xiang embroidery （湘绣）from Changsha region, Yue embroidery（粤绣）from chaozhou region and Shu embroidery（蜀绣） from Chengdu region are reputed as the four major Chinese embroideries. Su embroidery with its vivid charm representing the graceful beauty of the regions south of the Yangtze River is telling the thousand year history through fingertip craftsmanship. On 20 May 2006, it was among the first included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China.

The Charm of the East – the Selected Suzhou Embroidery Artworks Exhibition jointly organized by China Cultural Centre in Sydney and Yue Yuan Gallery & Decor from 21 July to 19 August features 36 selected Su embroidery artworks and Kesi round fans from the gallery’s collection. These exhibits demonstrate the beautiful patterns, ingenious designs, meticulous craftsmanship, lively needlework and elegant colours of Su embroidery. The creators not only inherit the traditional skills accumulated over two thousand years, but also keep the tradition abreast of the times with modern innovative design. Only with the consummate craftsmanship for perfection has Su embroidery been flourishing for thousands of years with various vividness through fingertip and painting-like verisimilitude through colourful threads. 

The exhibition highlights not only the delicate beauty and brilliant vitality of Su embroidery but also the unique charm of Suzhou, the embroidery paradise. We hope this exhibition could be a fantastic opportunity for the Australian audience to explore the glamour of this traditional skill and appreciate the continuous inheritance of craftsmanship of the folk artists to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. 

I wish the exhibition a complete success!

Xiayong Xiao 

Director

China Cultural Centre in Sydney

Suzhou embroidery (or Su embroidery) with a history of more than 2,600 years originated in Suzhou, a water town in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. As one of the four major embroideries in China, it was among the first included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. Suzhou’s superior geographical environment, gorgeous and rich brocades, and colourful threads have all contributed to the thriving of Suzhou embroidery.

In the long-term historical development process, Suzhou embroidery, known as the Pearl of the Orient, has formed its local style with beautiful patterns, harmonious colours, bright lines, lively needlework and meticulous craftsmanship. 

From the view of appreciation, Su embroidery artworks feature landscapes that distinguish the far from the near; mansions with illusion of depth; characters with vivid pose; flowers and birds with a graceful close relationship. Therefore, its painting-imitation embroideries and drawing embroideries are famous worldwide for their realistic artistic effect. Regarding embroidery skills, Suzhou embroideries focus on stitching skills. The artworks are embroidered without revealing stitches or knots. Su Embroideries often uses three to four similar or adjacent colours to create additional layers of the patterns to present the natural effect of colour transitions. At the same time, it often keeps a “waterway” when trying to change the depth of the image by leaving space to make the layers more precise and neat in outline. People would often comment on Su embroidery with the words “flat, neat, fine, dense, uniform, smooth, harmonious, and lustre”. After a long period of accumulation, Suzhou embroidery has developed into an integrated and complete art that contains a full range of various patterns and enriching images.

In every era, Su embroidery is inextricably linked with promoting international cultural exchanges and diplomatic relations as artistic works in art world and as a national gift on many international occasions.