Jadeite of change

Wang Junyi, a master artisan of jadeite carving, has tried over the past decade to break the barrier between the folk art genre and vanguard art.

His retrospective exhibition titled Metamorphosis is running until Nov 7 at the National Museum of China in central Beijing.

Viewers will find somewhat conventional artworks with themes most viewers are familiar with, such as a jadeite carving of dragon, a jadeite lotus and a Buddhist statue.

But the most eye-catching showpiece is the Ice Butterfly.

It is a 3-meter, kinetic installation Wang spent five years to complete. It's composed of a huge chunk of jadeite that weighs 150 kilograms, and resembles the Earth, and 13 smaller jadeite pieces, each resembling a fossilized butterfly.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays and public holidays, until Nov 7. National Museum of China, 16 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6511-6400.