All this can be attributed to Chu Pan-hsiung (朱邦雄), the founder of Meinong Kiln. A Hakka son, he upholds the hardworking spirit of the Hakkas. Since 1980, Chu has been studying ceramics chemistry and setting up ceramic factories. He studied and operated ceramic factories in Longtan, Taoyuan City as well as Yingge, New Taipei City. Later he finally settled in Meinong and in 1982, he founded the Meinong Kiln at the foot of Lingshan Mountain.
(Photo: Kaohsiung City Government)
Chu believes that the time for designing is limited, but the life of art is infinite. After he resolved to devote himself to creating ceramic mural art, Chu moved to Meinong and began to actively promote ceramic activities in southern Taiwan. Traditional Hakka pottery art mostly consists of living utensils, but Chu combined it with modern technology to create large-scale ceramic wall public art in all parts of Taiwan, be it the north or south. His works are found at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Tamkang University and National Chengchi University, as well as the Kaohsiung MRT stations.
The Meinong Kiln is a very special artist studio for making ceramic murals. It combines arts, humanities, industrial design and other disciplines. When it comes to promoting public art, almost everyone thinks of the Meinong Kiln when they talk about public art of ceramic murals. The Meinong Kiln does not have a kiln chimney or all kinds of mud; it actually looks like a beautiful courtyard with white sweet-scented osmanthus, pink bougainvillea, and colorful pottery walls. In the back mountains, there are Taiwanese macaques that occasionally wander into the kiln. Chu even opened a coffee shop on the site in 1998. The coffee cups and coffee tables are all ceramic creations. Unknowingly, Meinong Kiln has become a local treasure.
If you want to explore Taiwan's ceramic relief mural art and the ceramic industry in more depth, Yingge in New Taipei City is an option for you, but the Meinong Kiln in Kaohsiung City is definitely a place you shouldn’t miss.