In gallery spaces where white cubes meet delicate ceramics, a quiet rebellion against modern excess unfolds. Contemporary artists wield porcelain – historically a luxury material – as a pointed commentary on consumer culture's emptiness. The very fragility of fired clay becomes metaphor: Jeffry Mitchell's cracked teacups spilling gold leaf question durability of status symbols, while Liu Jianhua's installations of mass-produced ceramic goods mirror disposable consumption cycles.

Some creators employ subversive mimicry, crafting hyper-realistic porcelain fast food containers or branded packaging – Clare Twomey's "Consciousness/Conscience" features thousands of hand-thrown Starbucks cups, their imperfect variations mocking industrial uniformity. Others like Ai Weiwei weaponize cultural heritage, smashing Han Dynasty vases to confront commodification of tradition.

The medium's labor-intensive nature itself critiques materialism. As artist Serena Korda notes: "When viewers see 500 hours of craftsmanship in a single piece, they're forced to reconsider value beyond price tags." Porcelain's luminous surfaces reflect our distorted priorities, while hairline cracks reveal the fractures in late capitalist dreams. These works don't just depict excess – they physically embody the tension between enduring art and ephemeral desire.