Information

2017.9.23 11:00 – 12:30

KWM artcenter (201, East Tower, World Financial Centre, No.1 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District, Beijing)
Guest Speakers:

Liu Shuang (Artist)

Henny van Nistelrooy (Designer)

Wang Xu (Editorial Director of AD China)

Zhang Yuling (Director of KWM artcenter)

Conversation Information 

KWM artcenter is presenting the exhibition ‘Huan Zhong – Nature follows Abstraction’. Our exhibition title derives from the 4th century B.C. philosopher Zhuang Zi’s concept of ‘Huan Zhong’ in his essay ‘On levelling all things’. ‘Huang Zhong’ refers to the space within a circle. The circle represents the realistic world, while the space refers to the abstract and intangible.  KWM artcenter has invited 14 both intergenerational and international artists to participate in which includes paintings, sculpture, photography, textiles and ceramics, demonstrates how the look of abstraction easily crosses mediums.  It asks one to acknowledge how, on the one hand, visually, abstraction has been so readily absorbed into daily life and yet, on the other hand, still has the ability to surprise and shock people’s preconceptions of what can be considered art. We are honored to invite two exhibition artists, Liu Shuang, Henny Van Nistelrooy, Wang Xu (Editorial Director of AD China) and Zhang Yuling (Director of KWM artcenter) to join our conversation, to discuss more how the abstraction art involve in daily life.

Speakers Information

Liu Shuang graduated from China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2013. She won an award for One of the top 12 designers of Chinese Design Elite in 2016. Recent exhibitions: Light Cosmos in Temple gallery, Beijing, China, 2017; The Biennale International de Curitiba, Curitiba, Brazil,2017; PINK+ in EGG Gallery, Beijing, China, 2016;  Art Beijing in National Agricultural Exhibition Center, Beijing, China, 2017. Her art works incorporate multiple artistic presentation methods including installation art, architecture design and sculpture. Most of her researches focus on the substantial and spiritual culture, Explore our sense of reality and illusion.

Henny van Nistelrooy is an award-winning designer working in product and spatial design. Dutch born Henny van Nistelrooy has received his Master degree in Design Products at the renowned Royal College of Art London. Before opening his studio he worked freelance on numerous product and interior design proj- ects at different studios including Studio Tord Boontje. In the summer of 2012 Henny relocated to Beijing from where he runs his design studio. Henny currently holds a tutor position at Central Academy of Fine Art’s IFC program.

Wang Xu, Architecture Digest’s (hereinafter referred to as AD) editorial director
Wang Xu is one of the pioneers in the fields of design and publishing in China. In 1993, She joined L’OFFICIEL，the first Chinese fashion magazine. Then, she founded two magazines, Miss Modern Clothing in 1998 and ELLE DECORATION in 2004, successively. In 2011, she founded AD and so far, AD is a magazine which crosses design, architecture, art, fashion and other multi-directional creative field, bringing the high-quality life style for Chinese readers at the stage of home and public space. Meanwhile, she created two awards: AD 100 (awarding to 100 elites in the fields of construction and design every two years, beginning in 2013) and China Emerging Designers Platform (beginning in 2015 and it is awarded annually, in cooperation with Design Shanghai).

Yuling Zhang is a graduate of Pekin University and Sorbonne Paris 1, and recieve a doctor degree of European medieval art history. She is presently based in Beijing, as the artistic director of the KWM artcenter. She is also an art documentary producer and script writer and visiting professor of the China Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou.

Co-organizer Information

The KWM artcenter opened on 20th October 2016. It is located on the second floor of the WFC centre CBD in Beijing. The new art center is supported by the law firm King & Wood Mallesons and an KWM artcenter affiliated private art fund. The KWM artcenter has over 700 sqm of exhibition space, including an exhibition space, a VIP room and an educational space. It will be used to present and promote artists both domestically and overseas. In particular, it will act as a rare art institution at the heart of the economic central area in Beijing. It will provide high-quality art educational activities and courses aimed to cultivate art lovers and collectors. It serves to improve the international influence of Chinese Art and become a powerful communicator of Chinese Contemporary Art.

AD is not just a home design magazine. “AN” means ease, comfortable and “DI”’s meaning includes mansion and rich humanities connotation, covering all aspects of life as well. It inspires the imagination of the readers and sets new standards of quality life which the readers’ yearning for. AD is popular among the readers who are in good tastes and pursuit the qualified life, fashion celebrities, architects, designers and other professionals.

The Cultural Department within the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing focuses on the disciplines related to design with an emphasis on the following areas: architecture, urban planning, design (product, graphic, fashion), new media and digital culture. Creative Industries is one of the focus areas within the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on culture signed between China’s Ministry of Culture and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. It is therefore also the goal of the Netherlands to foster more collaboration with China in this field by means of solid partnerships.