Tradition Inheriting and Innovation Developing

Curator: Zeng Hui and Song Tao

Zeng Hui

Art Design Curator, Vice Director of Organizing CommiAee and Planning Director for Beijing International Design Week and Program Design Consultant for the “Warm New Home” of Beijing TV.

Song Tao

Ar&st, Designer, Curator, Founder of Zizaoshe and O-gallery

“Litera& Design” has been the focus and advocacy of contemporary Chinese designers for many years, especially referring to the fine tradi&on that emerging litera& class devoted to and catalyzed the development of essen&al Chinese ancient craSsmanship since Sui and Tang Dynas&es. As the subject of crea&on, litera& could always integrate the sensuous beauty of art and ra&onal specula&on of produc&on into design with their extensive knowledge and brilliant talent. On the other hand, the ancient litera& were a group of people who were most proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, poetry and tradi&onal culture in ancient China. When they appreciated, played and produced the craSwork, the spiritual orienta&on of Chinese tradi&onal culture was in the mean&me highly revealed. Therefore, another key point of litera& design is that it became the concrete manifesta&on of the abstract spirit of litera&, but also objec&vely carried many extremely precious essence of tradi&onal culture in ancient China. In this historical context, the litera& design achieved an unprecedented development with the background of literary prosperity and litera& governance in Song Dynasty, where the Neo-Confucian theories integrated from Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism gave birth to the litera&’s minimalism peak on anesthe&cs. At that &me, the craS aesthe&cs emphasized absolute simplicity, focusing on the purity of round, square, monochrome and texture. There is even argument that the minimalism anesthe&cs of Song Dynasty leads the world for a thousand years. The crea&on of this exhibi&on exactly con&nues above design context of tradi&onal litera&. Exhibitors par&cipa&ng in this sec&on include O Gallery, Chuan Xi Studio, Xiang Bo Jade, PINGZE and Culture Lab. It is a pleasure to see the inheritance of tradi&on and how precisely the craSsmanship improved by modern technology can present the art crea&on in design work.