In–Person Event
Location: Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA
Speaker: Wallace Chan. Artist and Innovator
A broken spoon. A burning kiln. A world reborn. In this intimate lecture, jewelry master Wallace Chan reflects on his childhood poverty, the symbolism of porcelain, and the years of trial that led to his invention of the Wallace Chan Porcelain—five times stronger than steel. More than a story of innovation, this is a meditation on silence, failure, memory, and the mysterious alchemy that turns fragility into strength.
A reception will follow in the galleries of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, where the brooch Metamorphosis, created by Chan, is on display.
Advance registration is required.
Free event parking at the 52 Oxford Street Garage, starting at 5pm.
Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with the Harvard Mineralogical & Geological Museum.
About the Speaker
Wallace Chan (b. 1956) is a pioneering artist, jewelry master, and innovator whose work fuses traditional craftsmanship with technological innovation. He began his career as a gemstone carver in 1973 at the age of sixteen. Over five decades, his relentless curiosity and dedication have led to a series of groundbreaking innovations: The Wallace Cut (1987), a patented illusionary three-dimensional carving technique; mastery of titanium in jewelry; jadeite luminosity-enhancing technology; elaborate gemstone settings without metal claws; The Secret Abyss; and most recently, The Wallace Chan Porcelain, a material five times stronger than steel after eight years of development.
Chan’s creative journey is shaped by poverty, perseverance, and an obsession with material transformation. It reflects a deep philosophy of resilience through art. For him, materials are more than medium: they are vessels of memory, meditation, and meaning. His pieces often carry echoes of Buddhist thought, Chinese symbolism, Western mythologies, and personal mythology, bridging the worlds of sculpture and ornament, fragility and endurance.
His works are held in the permanent collections of major institutions, including the Shanghai Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Long Museum, the British Museum, the Capital Museum in Beijing, and the Ningbo Museum. He has presented solo exhibitions at the Shanghai Museum, Pieta Chapel in Venice, Christie’s (Hong Kong, Shanghai, London), Canary Wharf in London, Fondaco Marcello in Venice, Asia House in London, the Gemological Institute of America Museum in California, and museums across Mainland China and Taiwan
Chan is also the first Chinese jewelry artist invited to exhibit at the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris (2012, 2024), TEFAF Maastricht and TEFAF New York (2016–2020), and Masterpiece London (2016–2017), firmly establishing him as a leader in contemporary jewelry art. With each work, Wallace Chan reimagines what is possible.
