Tido Art is delighted to announce our participation in the 2026 Melbourne Art Fair (MAF), where we will present an exclusive soloexhibition by our represented artist Darian Duan. This marks Darian’sfirst independent project at MAF, showcasing a new body of work that expandshis distinctive contemporary porcelain practice.
A Journey from 2024 to 2026:
Our Commitment to the Melbourne Arts Community
Our relationship with MAF began in 2024, when Tido Art tookpart in the fair for the first time. That experience offered us invaluableinsights into Australia’s artistic landscape, audience engagement, andprofessional standards.
In 2025, we made the decision to fully anchor ourselveswithin the local arts community. Over the year, we actively participated in keyindustry events including:
These engagements have deepened our understanding ofAustralian contemporary ceramic art and strengthened our connection with thebroader Melbourne art ecosystem. We are honoured to return to MAF in 2026 as part of theofficial exhibitor line-up, bringing contemporary Chinese ceramic art to aneven wider international audience.
Darian Duan: A New Body of Work for MAF 2026
For this edition of MAF, Darian will debut a suite of workscreated specifically for the fair. His practice—rooted in Jingdezhen porcelaintraditions—combines painting, material experimentation, and sculptural thinkingto form what he calls “painterly porcelain.” His process embraces bothprecision and unpredictability, resulting in works that balance control withorganic formation.
Highlights of the New Series
1. Splash-Blue Technique: Image-Making Through NaturalTraces
Darian’s “Splash-Blue” method begins with the spontaneousbehaviour of cobalt pigment.
He splashes dye across porcelain plates or forms, allowing it to dry and settlenaturally into shapes, fractures, and flows that cannot be replicated.
These naturally formed traces become the foundation for his imagery, creating adialogue between nature’s imprint and the artist’s emotional and intentionalresponse.
2. Knife Painting on Porcelain: Aesthetics of Disruptionand Renewal
Extending knife-painting techniques from canvas to porcelainsurfaces, Darian works with the edge of the blade—scraping, pushing, carvingthrough pigment—to fracture the existing image before reconstructing a new one.
This approach produces surfaces charged with tension and dimensionality,evoking the interplay between destruction, reconstruction, and rebirth.
3. A Cross-Material Approach to Form and Image
From large vessel forms to works on paper and splash-blueporcelain plates, Darian’s practice moves fluidly between painting andobject-making. While grounded in the cultural lineage of Chinese porcelain, hiswork speaks a distinctly contemporary visual language.
Exhibition Focus:
Between Nature, Emotion, and the Generative Process
The presentation at MAF explores cycles of naturalformation, artistic intervention, rupture, and regeneration.
Through natural textures, accidental pigment movements, knife-driven marks, andthe intrinsic fragility of porcelain, Darian’s works evoke a passage from chaosto clarity—mirroring the release of emotion, energy, and memory.
Join Us at the 2026 Melbourne Art Fair
Tido Art looks forward to sharing this new body of work,situated at the intersection of Jingdezhen tradition and Australia’scontemporary art context.
We warmly invite collectors, curators, art professionals, and visitors toexperience the debut of Darian Duan’s latest creations at MAF 2026.
