Indulge your modernist tastes at Design Miami fair

The inaugural edition of the Design Miami/Podium x Shanghai fair is being held at No. 1 Waitanyuan, the former British consulate in Shanghai, through November 14.

The fair is Design Miami's first collectible design event in Asia.

Five gallery booths and 25 podium exhibitors are displaying artworks to interpret the theme of "Wu Gan: The Art of Design." Wu gan means five senses.

The exhibits succinctly illustrate the diversity of modernism in the 20th century, including classic European styles by French designers Jean Prouvé and Pierre Jeannere.

Other highlights include a selection of Shanghai Art Deco by artist Ding Yi and Art & Deco Gallery Shanghai, and a rare 1950s Zig-Zag chair by Lina Bo Bardi and Giancarlo Palanti, designers from Brazilian studio d'Arte Palma.

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Some of the exhibits displayed at the Design Miami fair

Credit: Ti Gong
Credit: Ti Gong
Credit: Ti Gong

Also, Jiang Sheng, celebrated for his sublime contemporary Buddhist sculptures, presents a standing Bodhisattva. With a height of more than 3 meters, it's one of Jiang's largest creations to date.

Other designers known for breaking boundaries include China's Xu Zhen, Zhou Yilun and their foreign counterparts such as Daniel Arsham, Virgil Abloh, Rick Owens and Misha Kahn.

The fair also highlights how contemporary Chinese designers experiment with traditional crafts and take them in new directions.

Exhibits include Loewe Craft Prize winner Lin Fanglu's fiber works made in collaboration with ethnic minority artisans in Yunnan Province, Jingdezhen-based Hao Zhenhan's ceramics and Li Naihan's lacquer furniture.

Five international galleries have set up standalone booths. New York-based R & Company presents works by icons such as Wendell Castle and Gerrit Rietveld alongside new ceramics by Katie Stout.

Joseph Walsh Studio displays a unique edition of the Lumenoria Dining Table, accompanied by another two Rinn series pieces: the Enignum Rinn Shelf and Enignum Rinn Chairs.