After its successful debut last year, Design Shanghai takes over the entire Shanghai Exhibition Centre from March 27-30. Greeting visitors at the entrance is the striking circular sculpture Prologue. It’s the latest collaboration between award-winning London-based avant-garde designers Frederickson Stallard and luxury glass brand Swarvoski.
Debuting at Art Basel Hong Kong last year, Prologue measures four meters in diameter and holds over 8,000 Swarovski crystal droplets within its steel frame. Initially made in raw steel with gold crystals alluding to the sun, the work has been recreated for Shanghai with galvanized steel and pale blue crystal.
“The idea behind Prologue is this crazy city around the water,” Patrick Frederikson explains. “We wanted the crystals to reflect a moment of calm or that primeval feeling of simplicity of something far quieter. It contrasts with the craziness of the surrounding buildings which are almost like a Batman or sci-fi set.”
The work will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Swarovski Waterschool program. Initially opened within the Danube basin in Austria, the water conservation education program spread to China in 2008. Over 100 schools across 12 provinces have brought the program to more than 197,000 students around the Yangtze River Basin. This year it expands to include the Pearl River, the Yarlung Tsampo River and the Hai River.
“We work on a few different projects with Swarovski linked to their conservation project,” Frederickson explains. “We’re very keen on looking at these issues and how we can put forward better ideas for the work that we do.”
Photo by Ed Reeve
Since Frederickson partnered with Ian Stallard in 1995, the pair have crafted a stellar reputation as Britain’s leading proponents of avant-garde design. They were awarded the prestigious Arts Foundation Furniture Design Fellowship, granted once every 10 years, and their works were voted among the top 10 designs of the last decade by the Financial Times.
Recent projects include the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) trophy and a new fragrance bottle for Italian fashion house Brioni. Their clients range from Chanel to Rémy Martin to Dunhill.
Prologue is among Design Shanghai’s highlight features (see below) and the two will also participate in the fair’s seminar series.
While they have visited China several times, it will be Frederickson and Stallard’s first time back in Shanghai since 2006, when they took part in an exhibition at Pearl Lam Gallery. Frederickson is excited to see the evolution of the city’s fine art and design scene.
“There’s a sense of Hong Kong still being very much influenced by European and North American design. Beijing has gone off in a different direction with this new way of thinking for Chinese people. I imagine Shanghai to be in-between, which will be an interesting balance,” he explains.
Design Shanghai Highlights
The 'Dragon Chronopage' is a clock co-created by Dr. John C. Taylor OBE, inventor of the thermostat found in electric kettles.
After drawing more than 47,000 visitors last year, the organizers of Design Shanghai are aiming to smash the 60,000 mark. With double the size, this year’s fair will feature over 300 exhibitors separated into contemporary, classic and collectible design halls. World renowned brands including Moroso, Foscarini, Vitra, Seletti and Abride have already confirmed participation.
In addition to Prologue, Design Shanghai will host several special installations. Bally brings their traveling exhibition celebrating Swiss and French modernist designers. Designed in 1944 as emergency shelters, the refashioned Jean Prové Demountable House will be assembled on site and decorated with iconic furniture from the Pierre Jeanneret collection, as well as works by promising young Chinese artist Wang Yugang who was recommended by internationally-renowned modern art curator Jérome Sans.
The inventor of the thermostat in electric kettles, Dr. John C Taylor OBE, collaborates with Professor Long of Hangzhou Art University on one of the world’s most innovative clocks. Dragon Chronopoge is a physical interpretation of Einstein’s idea of relative time, counting down minutes and seconds in ways never seen before.
Anomalay presents a series of immersive multimedia installations based on a George Bernard Shaw quote while ELLE DECORATION China presents 10 lighting designs by local designers they discovered in China.
Design Shanghai has partnered with AD China for a seminar program, themed ‘Transition and Transformation.’ Featured speakers include acclaimed Spanish designer Jamie Hayon, award-winning designer Lee Broom, legendary Hong Kong brand consultant Alan Chan, renowned designer Chi Wong Lo, Anomaly Shanghai CEO Eric Lee and Kokaistudios founders Filipp Gabbiani and Andrea Destefanis.
// Mar 27-30, 10am-6pm (10am-9pm on Mar 27), RMB120-150. Shanghai Exhibition Centre, tickets.
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