For the first time, Design Miami will bring its celebrated program of collectible design to China! Opening this November during Shanghai Art Week, Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai, produced in collaboration with local agency Made In House, will present an original selling exhibition that explores the theme Wu Gan: The Art of Design | 物感：设计的艺术’s, curated by Design Miami/ Curatorial Director Aric Chen and Deputy Curator (Shanghai) Violet Ruhui Wang.

Chen and Wang’s theme was inspired by The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons 文心雕龍, a seminal 5th-century Chinese treatise that underscores the sensory, emotional, and spiritual relationships between humans and the objects and environments that surround them. Drawn from Design Miami’s community of design galleries and studios, the collection-worthy historical and contemporary objects on view, each in its own way, will embody rich narratives and fine art-like aesthetic provocations. The goal is to offer a forum for enthusiastic new audiences to engage with designers from around the world, both past and present, including many rising-star Chinese talents.

Scroll on for further highlights you’ll find at Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai later this year.

Modernist Masterpieces

From Europeans like Jean Prouvé and Finn Juhl to Brazilians like Lina Bo Bardi and Giancarlo Palanti, the Shanghai exhibition will showcase iconic 20th-century designs that underscore the breadth and depth of the modernist movement and the powerful influence it continues to wield today

Contemporary Blurred Boundaries

In the Shanghai exhibition, you'll find Chinese designers who operate across and between disciplinary boundaries, evoking the historical lack of distinction between art forms in China. Examples include Jiang Sheng’s two-meter-high aluminum Bodhisattva, one of his largest pieces to date, from an ongoing series dedicated to “giving Buddha a body on the Earth.” These Chinese works will be placed in conversation with those of European and American designer-makers—Daniel Arsham, Virgil Abloh, Rick Owens, and Misha Kahn, to name a few—who share a similar boundary-breaking ethos.

Craft and Continuity in China

The Shanghai exhibition will also spotlight contemporary Chinese designers who are experimenting with traditional crafts and craftsmanship to develop striking new directions. Standouts include the fiber works of Lin Fanglu—this year's international Loewe Craft Prize winner—who collaborates with ethnic-minority artisans in the Yunnan province, as well as the exquisite lacquer furniture designed by Li Naihan and crafted by master artisan Runda Zhou.

Design Debuts

At Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai, you’ll have the opportunity to discover a number of never-before-seen works from international design stars. Thomas Heatherwick’s transformative Friction table will make its international debut; celebrated Hong Kong designer André Fu will launch his first-ever collectible design collection; and more.

Emerging and Established Galleries

Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai will demonstrate the ongoing growth of Chinese galleries that specialize in collectible design, such as Pearl Lam Gallery, Gallery Sohe, Objective Gallery, Gallery All,  and Art & Deco Gallery. Well-known galleries from abroad who are participating include Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Cristina Grajales Gallery, Etage Projects, Friedman Benda, Galerie Patrick Seguin, Gokelaere & Robinson, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Moderne Gallery, Nilufar Gallery, Ornamentum Gallery, R & Company, Salon 94, Side Gallery, The Future Perfect, and Volume Gallery. ◆ 

Located at No. 1 Waitanyuan in Shanghai, Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai runs November 4–14, 2021. 

Ongoing news about the show will be shared via Wechat/ Design_Miami.  Follow us! QR code here: