Advanced Search

Related News

Home » World

Kanjian exhibition arouses interest in China's tradition at Milan Design Week

Source: Xinhua | April 13, 2014, Sunday | Online Edition

"I saw exquisite combinations," Vera Raiteri, an old lady from Italy's Milan, said on Friday while visiting a collection of contemporary designs inspired by traditional crafts of China in the Italian capital of design.

The Kanjian exhibition, held during the ongoing Milan Design Week which runs from April 8 to 13, was the first ever Chinese-Folk-Art-New-Design themed event worldwide.

Organizers explained that Kanjian has brought some of the world's most influential designers to express their creativity based on traditional Chinese materials and handcrafts.

The result was an exhibition of more than 50 exemplary of modern design derived from more than 10 Chinese handicraft traditions.

Each creation was handmade with bamboo, wood, paint, pottery, porcelain, glass, silver, iron, embroidery, screen printing and other traditional materials and techniques.

"China already has a strong presence in the world, but there is always something more to learn about this interesting country", Raiteri added.

Organizers said the Kanjian team had traveled to different regions within China to introduce participating designers to the local artisans who have been the custodians of these traditional crafts for many generations.

By investing time to understand the historical value and cultural significance behind each technique, the designers were inspired to create useful objects that utilize ancient craftsmanship and materials.

"Recently the Chinese design has interested me, because creativity in China is going through a period of contamination with international arts, which enhances innovation," a young designer, Cristina Carnevale, noted.

Carnevale said Kanjian has set an example of how the mixing of China's design with global creativity to breathe new life into ancient crafts can be a tool to help foreigners get closer to the Chinese tradition that is not always so easy to comprehend.

The exhibition's Art Director Dadawa, Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) China, has chosen 8,000 grey bricks as the basic element to present exhibits.

Originating from the earth, grey bricks have always been the basic element of Chinese architecture on which the foundation of Chinese culture has been laid.

"I was really impressed by the way these materials could be interpreted and kneaded for such a variety of creations," another visitor, Giorgio Soffiantini, told Xinhua.

"I am a lawyer, so certainly I am not an expert of design. But I must say that this exhibition has aroused my interest in China's history and tradition," he added.

World


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend