Gathering Plates
With Autumn/Winter 2026, LEMAIRE introduces a series of collaborations with artists and makers whose practices engage with the everyday. Designed for use in the LEMAIRE boutiques, each project invites the creation of functional objects that celebrate domestic life while reflecting LEMAIRE’s enduring interest in craftsmanship, utility, and the home. The first project, Gathering Plates, brings together two long-standing collaborators of the house: photographer and painter AiHeMei (Xu Jing) and ceramic artist Li Qing.
The artists have created three hand-crafted jade porcelain trays – 月华花 yuèhuá huā (Moonlight Flower), 秋痕 qiū hén (Traces of Autumn), and 月梢 yuè shāo (Moon Above the Treetops) – drawing on the theme of harvest and the changing seasons. Li Qing made and fired the trays, refining the techniques of modelling, drying, grinding, two-layer glazing, and double firing required to achieve their distinctive forms. AiHeMei adorned the ceramic surfaces with her paintings, translating botanical forms into abstract compositions through a delicate palette of colour.
Used flat, the trays serve their practical purpose as serving trays; placed upright, they become artworks. Each piece is individually signed by the artists.
The process reflects their attention to materials, detail, and function, bringing together two complementary practices and a shared belief in bringing art into everyday life.
“We are drawn to pieces that balance technical mastery with artistry, and function with ornament.” – AiHeMei & Li Qing
Images captured by the artists offer an intimate glimpse into their creative worlds.
Personal and spontaneous, they reveal the spaces, routines, and gestures surrounding the collaboration.
AIHE MEI AND lI qING
AiHeMei (Xu Jing) is a Chengdu-based visual artist. Rooted in Eastern culture and informed by her background in jurisprudence, art, and design, her practice explores the poetry of nature and everyday life. Her work has developed across traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, and watercolour, while integrating the aesthetics of pictorial composition into photography.
Li Qing is a Chengdu-based ceramic artist and director of the Shushan Kiln Ceramic Art Museum. His practice brings together traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, spanning unique works and functional objects. His work encompasses the techniques of porcelain painting, ceramic making, and firing, with particular attention to the relationship between material, form, and function.
Gathering Plates is presented at the LEMAIRE Wukang, Beijing, and Chengdu stores, where visitors can discover the pieces in their everyday setting.
