A Sweeten Spectacular of Arts and Living Co-created with “Sugar King” of China
The opening ceremony of Fondant Art Exhibition at MGM COTAI took place on January 4.
As we embark on a new year, MGM joins hands with Zhou Yi, a master in Chinese fondant art who is also crowned as the “Sugar King” of China, to present the Fondant Art Exhibition at MGM COTAI. The exhibition, being the first solo exhibition of Zhou Yi, is aspired to promote Chinese traditional culture and dough-sculpture, a traditional Chinese craftsmanship that is also a piece of intangible cultural heritage, of which Zhou Yi creatively fuses dough with fondant art, a western artistic medium, to create Chinese style doll figures that amuse all. Innovatively merges food crafting techniques, such as dough-sculpting and fondant art, and artistic techniques like painting, spray painting and sculpturing, the exhibition flaunts a brand-new cultural tourism experience of the art of living.
Fondant Art Exhibition at MGM COTAI is a permanent exhibition of originality and innovative concepts, co-created by MGM and Zhou Yi. The five life-sized fondant art sculptures, all over two-meter in height and are exclusively created for MGM and Macau, are themed around the classics of Chinese culture, such as “Three Books and Six Rituals”, “Filial Piety”, and folk culture of the Lingnan region, “Lion Dance” and “Culture of Yum Cha”, to name a few, which delightfully present “auspiciousness” and “courtesy” that are treasured in Chinese traditional culture. These works of art truly rejuvenate living and history and extends the reach of art to a whole new level. The exhibition leads its audiences to explore the charm of intangible cultural heritage and Chinese culture, and at the same time telling the great Chinese story through the marvelous craftsmanship of the contemporary days.
The opening ceremony of Fondant Art Exhibition at MGM COTAI took place on January 4.
Pansy Ho, Co-chairperson and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited, said, “As a grand starting point for MGM’s new journey in Macau, the exhibition features the taste of sweetness from the five tastes to bring forth the art of living. Thrilled to be collaborating with Zhou Yi, the ‘Sugar King’ of China, MGM and his team have spent a year to put together this cutting-edge exhibition, which rejuvenates Chinese traditional culture by presenting traditional festivity, etiquette and livelihood in a contemporary manner and infusing the influence of Guochao, the ‘national culture’, to merge art into life. In the future, arts and culture will remain to be the core of MGM, and we will create new chapters of our journey with entertainment, culture and performance, giving life to art in all aspects.”
Guests of honor were invited to a guided tour at the exhibition, led by Zhou Yi, the “Sugar King” of China himself.
Zhou Yi said, “Co-curated by the two brands, MGM and Sugar King, this exhibition took over a year to perfect, with countless ideas exchanged and challenges overcame throughout the progress. Through the themes of the artwork, ranging from Chinese folk custodies, historical figures to folk legends and myths, I hope to showcase Chinese traditional culture to more audiences in such crowd’s favorite art medium, fondant art. I also believe that Chinese culture needs to be seen and recognized in order to realize the rejuvenation of our nation. With that said, we thank the Macau SAR government and MGM for their support towards the promotion of Chinese culture, and we hope to showcase Chinese culture to friends all over the globe, through the roaring lion of MGM, and Macau, the Window of the World.”
The opening ceremony of Fondant Art Exhibition at MGM COTAI took place today (January 4), which was also livestreamed on 15 online platforms across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau and attracted a total of over 1.7 million viewers. The ceremony was attended by a lineup of guests of honor, including: Bai Bing, Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office; Leong Wai Man, Director of Cultural Affairs Bureau; Kenneth Feng, President, Chief Strategic & Financial Officer of MGM; Zhou Yi, master of fondant art and “Sugar King” in China, and Cristina Kuok, Vice President of Arts and Culture of MGM.
The Fondant Art Exhibition is a permanent exhibition of originality and innovative concepts, co-created by MGM and Zhou Yi. The five life-sized sculptures, all over two-meter in height and are exclusively created for MGM and Macau, are themed around the classics of Chinese culture and folk culture of the Lingnan region.
Exhibition Details
Date: January 4, 2023 onwards
Group session: Monday to Friday 12pm to 1pm
(One-day advance reservation to artsandculture@mgm.mo )
Public session: Monday to Friday 1pm to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday 12pm to 8pm
Venue: Infinite Harmony at Spectacle, MGM COTAI
Admission: Free
About Zhou Yi
A master of fondant art in China and often known as the “Sugar King” of China, Zhou Yi first started his career in learning Chinese sculpture and dough sculpture from masters of the field, and later on stumbled upon fondant art and self-learnt the artistry. After mastering both the eastern and western art forms, he becomes an internationally renowned artist, with his traditional Chinese dough sculptures made in the medium of fondant art. Aspired to showcase the beauty of the Orient to the world, Zhou stuns the international audiences with his sophisticated masterpieces, which has gained him several grand recognitions – the most acclaimed one being the Best Award at Cake International 2017. Zhou was also recognized as the Awardee for National Culture Inheritance in 2022.
