Home
禄 City specials
禄 Hangzhou
Milan exhibition highlights Chinese style
Print Edition
FOR long, “Made in China” was stereotypical of cheap copies. But an exhibition in Milan dazzles visitors with contemporary Chinese designs, yet made of traditional materials or inspired by old craftsmanship.
The works, from furniture to fashion, are by designers from the Rong (to merge and combine) project run by the Hangzhou Yuhang RONG Contemporary Art and Design Center.
The center launched Rong in 2012. And each year it has collected designers from home and abroad to work on a selected theme. In the past five years the themes have been bamboo, silk, mud, copper and paper. More than 120 designers have contributed to turning those natural and traditional materials into modern products.
The Chinese Traditional Crafts and Material Exhibition in Milan selected 70 pieces for this show.
Zhang Lei, curator of the exhibition and director of the design center, said the Rong project is a way to “deconstruct Chinese craftsmanship and then reproduce” through design.
“There are two engines that drive designers to innovate, one is knowledge, and the other is craft and material,” he said.
Along with partners Christoph John from Germany and Jovana Zhang from Serbia, he has created two chairs made of bamboo and other materials.
“Air Chair” has a seat that is simply a grid of wide bamboo strips backed with stainless-steel legs; “Piao” features a seat made of bamboo paper containing bamboo splits, and is with wooden legs.
Product designer Chen Min has layered several pieces of curved long bamboo veneer into a stool, named the Hangzhou Stool.
Each piece is separate at the top but bound at the feet. As each veneer is different in length, they are bent into different sized arc shapes.
“Bamboo is a great material for chairs because it is strong, flexible and breathes”, explained Chen.
At the exhibition Italian visitors — many of them designers, gave comments such as “amazing,” “unusual,” “intense ... interesting materials.”
The exhibition lasts until Sunday at Tortona, Via Novi 5, Milan. It is organized by Hangzhou Office of Cultural and Creative Industry, and From Yuhang RONG Design Library.
For those not in Italy, please come to From Yuhang RONG Design Library for the charm of modern design by Chinese traditional materials and craftsmanship.
It is a library-museum that collects and displays traditional materials and handicrafts from around the country, as well design work of Rong project — some are for sale.
The library is open to the public free of charge. Exhibitions with different themes are held from time-to-time.
• Chinese Traditional Crafts and Material Exhibition
Date: Through April 9, 10am-9pm
Venue: Tortona, Via Novi 5, Milan
• From Yuhang RONG Design Library
Date: Daily
Address: 156 Wuchang Avenue, Yuhang, Hangzhou
Tel: (0571) 8585-0202
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
