Design Miami / Basel 2008    Dec 3 - Dec 6, 2008

PRESENTING WORK BY MAARTEN BAAS, CONSTANTIN BOYM, PATRICE BUTLER, ANDRÉ DUBREUIL, SHAO FAN, STUDIO MAKKINK & BEY, MARTIN SZEKELY, PETER TING, ALEXANDRA VON FURSTENBERG, AND XYZ DESIGN

Design Miami/ Stand 1, NE 39th Street and 1st Court, Miami, FL

Press Preview (registered press only): December 2, 12-2pm
Collectors Preview (invitation only): December 2, 3-6pm
Vernissage (invitation only): December 2, 6-10pm

Open to the public: December 3-6, 2008, 11am-7pm

For entrance passes, please contact Allison Gorsuch at +1 310 775 0944 (limited quantity available).

Gallery director Pearl Lam Continues to Strengthen Her Uniquely Conceived Platform for Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Invention Between East and West

Miami, FL – Shanghai-based Contrasts Gallery returns to Design Miami/ for the fourth consecutive year with an exciting and diverse mix of limited edition design by ten international artists. A collection of varied pieces cultivated by Lam’s uniquely conceived platform for creative design, this year’s presentation of work is powerful evidence of the compelling artistic exchanges occurring across cultures today. Design Miami/ takes place within the fair’s temporary structure located at NE 39th Street and 1st Court, Miami, FL and will be open to the public December 3-6, 2008 from 11:00am to 7:00pm.

Contrasts Gallery fosters cross-cultural exchanges and hosts a residency program wherein international artists and designers are invited to China to investigate traditional Chinese craftsmanship, materials and imagery. By combining these time-honored methods with contemporary ideas, forms and methods, these artists and designers are enabled to create new works reflecting attitudes and mode of representation in present-day China.

The gallery continues to collaborate with the internationally renowned designer Maarten Baas whose fascination with traditional Chinese woodcarving pushes the boundaries of this time-honored craft while revealing the playfulness of his imagination. The series Transformation represents Baas’ experiment with established Chinese forms where handcrafted wood furniture look as though they are melting into a wooden pool. Inspired by all of the contrasts Baas witnessed while working in Shanghai – old/new, real/fake, traditional/modern – this body of work demonstrates the compelling artistic product of approaching Eastern culture from a Western viewpoint.

Also on view will be Still Life, a table by Russian-born, New York-based designer Constantin Boym. Incorporating traditional Chinese woodworking and porcelain production methods, but combined with his own unique tongue-in-cheek design sensibility, Boym’s table features indented areas specifically created to accommodate five vases. By placing the vases into the correct spots, a perfectly prearranged “still life” is created.

Studio Makkink & Bey’s cleaning-beauty-dining-table (stainless steel) is the latest addition to the studio’s Cleanliness is next to Godliness series, which re-imagines propaganda for the overlooked world of cleaning by using luxurious materials. The table consists of a glossy-finish tabletop and matte drawers that open on either side, along with six accompanying stools. It is based on the original cleaning-beauty-dining-table made of traditional Chinese boxes and wood. The sleek and modern feel of the stainless steel edition is representative of the contrasts in China, where traditions and modernity as well as low-tech and high-tech co-exist.

Shao Fan illustrates how Chinese contemporary art is constantly revising and reinventing traditions by synthesizing Western aesthetics with traditional Chinese artistic philosophy. He is known for his de/reconstructed functional and non-functional combinations of traditional Ming style furniture and modern materials. With Ming Style Penta Star, for example, traditional methods, such as mortise and tenon joinery, produce modern sculptural forms that seek to balance past and present, reflecting contemporary Chinese culture. Shao creates 21st-century objects that capture the rapid transformation of the society around him and question whether expediency should replace the grace and beauty of tradition.

Alexandra Von Furstenberg’s editioned jewel-inspired acrylic tables capture the cosmopolitan designer’s upbringing in Hong Kong and other parts of the globe. The sleek Trillion and Ice tables brilliantly reflect light, while radiating color. Von Furstenberg’s work embodies a cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary aesthetic that encompasses design, art, and fashion, which characterizes the direction design is moving towards today.

Contrasts Gallery will also present the porcelain piece Single Dragon Candle Stick by Shanghai-based XYZ Design, stainless steel, vinyl and lace chairs playfully named after American political figures designed by Patrice Butler, a cast crystal glass side table by Martin Szekely and porcelain tableware by André Dubreuil and Peter Ting.

# # #

About Contrasts Gallery

Contrasts Gallery is aptly named because its philosophy is to celebrate and exaggerate differences. Founded in Hong Kong in 1992, the Gallery from inception set itself the task of exploring the relationships between art, architecture, and design by fusing individual creative talents without prejudice. The Gallery shows artworks from cutting-edge artists and commissioned pieces from designers worldwide. The Gallery’s mission is to show artists who explore Western and Eastern influences on art by creating a new aesthetic that defines the dynamic changes of today.