"COEXIST" Exhibition
"COEXIST" Exhibition
MEDIA IMPACT (LINKS INSERTED)
Architectureartdesign, Archiecho, home world design,
the design story, design anthology, Yellow trace,
Dwell, Construction Review Online, Interior Russia,
INTERNATIONAL REACH
China🇨🇳, Russia🇷🇺, Italy🇮🇹, Australia🇦🇺, Indonesia🇮🇩
Brief Intro:
Objective creates a narrative environment that embraces a personal and collaborative approach to art and design. It unifies artists and designers in creating a collection of functional yet elegant furniture, lighting , art and lifestyle objects. Curated in an evocative gallery space housed within a historic building of Shanghai's Xitiandi neighborhood. Objective is a multi-disciplinary brand that sources lifestyle objects from around the glob both to inspire aesthetically and to promote a mindful way of life.
'Beauty is the 'sensuous appearing of the Idea.'
---- Hegel
"The beauty of life lies in collision and harmony. It is my objective to present an object in an objective way."
----Chris Shao, founder and designer of Objective
On July 3, Objective was established in Shanghai and presented its maiden exhibition "COEXIST". The exhibition was staged in a dark green vintage Western-style house, gathering works by global artists. Filled with collaborations across territory and profession, the space takes you on a journey to appreciate objects with both beauty and functionality, and the essence of life.
Honoring the principle of merging beauty and functionality, each item from Objective articulates the ceaseless exploration by designers, artists and craftsmen: from design, material selection to production. Here, the beauty of life lies in collision, fusion, and mutual complement. Here, the infinite possibilities of life are tested one after another.
Rambling into an old house located deep along an alley, you can start your exploration at the Coexist exhibition. Starting from architecture and space, the exhibition presents a journey to discover beauty across time and space. This century-old house is a perfect combination of Shanghai and western styles. The staircases and facades painted in gray-green bring the exuberant green moss of Shanghai summer into the space. Set to a light green tonality, the exhibition continues a vibrant aesthetic exploration from outside in.
The cylindrical ornament placed besides the "floating chair" is a fusion of varied materials. The metallic luster and the transparent arcylic come to a visual balance, perfectly in harmony with the smooth curved cutting. It can be used as both a table and a stool-also an original from Objective. Two round stools Mande of oak and cloth are placed next to the fireplace int he living room. The grain-textured fabric comes in line with the small-sized stools, making them beautiful and practical at the same time.
In front of the sofas lies a marble coffee table in "cold emerald" green. Made by multiple layers of stone slabs, it is a breakthrough in design thinking, and helps diversify the user experience (Left). the halved mohair sofas in turquoise with a slight Morandi gray, comes from an original furniture design series of Objective, featuring a fabric series created by former creative director of Dior Raf Simons in collaboration with the Danish brand Kvadrat.
The lamps handmade by American artist Brecht Wright Gander and his team. The chic floor lamp from Gander is inspired by the marvelous memories of him collecting sea lily fossiles in his childhood. More than a lighting fixture, due to its uniqueness, it is an artwork adding special vibes to the entire space.
Outside the living room is a rectangular indoor terrace with excellent natural lighting. A clear arc-shaped marble sculpture table is displayed here. This piece by designer Lorenzo Bini allows users to sit around it in irregular positions, breaking the restrained dining atmosphere at traditional tables.
From architecture, interior, to furniture, fabric; from 3D to 2D, Coexist is a story about the ingenious integration of art, home furnishing, and space, inspiring thinking from more dimensions. A quieter place is set up on the second floor: an antique desk from the 1950s designed by the famous Italian architect and designer Gianfranco Frattini, paired with one of the signatures of Paris brand R&Y Augousti – Eden Chair. Empty pens and bronze with black horse hair, exotic and mysterious. The objects on the stove were accidentally discovered by the Chris Shao while traveling in Morocco.
Walking upstairs to the top floor, you will first see the table and dining chairs by artist Arno Declecq. Arno's design is natural and simple. With plain black oak, he has perfectly blended the distinctive and obscure tribal art in West Africa into his works – which in turn fit the surrounding furniture organically.
On the other side is the work by designer Robert Kuo. He is good at conferring organic forms in nature to his design. On the other hand, his skilled use of traditional craftsmanship, technology and materials leads to great achievements in his artistic creation.
Though this screen, he innovatively uses a simple pear shape to convey his insights into life. Art comes from life, but goes beyond life. In front of the screen sits a stylish armchair. Designer Bryce Cai, while taking ergonomics into account, has created a trumpet-like chair where users can sit comfortably as if being swaddled. The sofa next to it is designed by Vladimir Kagan. Through a highly artistic integration of regular materials, he gets unshackled from the traditional way of sitting, and replaces it with a distinct and free use experience, making the sofa an antique with high collection value.
Fact Sheets
Exhibition name：Coexist
Curator: Chris Shao
Company Website: www.chrisshaostudio.com
Guest Curator: Simon Wang
Team: Don Li; Ansha Jin
Photograher: Guan Li
Exhibition period: July 4th - September 12th
