Monday, November 06, 2017

confluence 20+ at block 37

leff and i were lucky enough to catch confluence 20+ on saturday on its last day at the chicago design museum. (that is my m.o. openings, smopenings i'm all about the panic of last day viewing)

confluence 20+ was the third edition of a traveling exhibit (milan, hong kong, seoul, chicago) about hong kong design. i knew this was going to be good but i didn't realize HOW good.


please know that i tried to get names for all the designers, artists, etc etc but i have failed. which makes me sad because i REALLY really love this outfit.


fashion designers whose names i *did* remember to write down were lo sing chin who was showing "traditional guangcai craftsmanship intertwine(ing) with camping gear"


and otto tang who captures travel moments on film that are eventually printed on fabric. (i love these!)




james law's alpods (prefab units with aluminum shells) greatly appeal with their mobility. some tiny models were shown.


lemme tell ya, if i ever considered owning property again (i'm not haha nooope), i'd want to own one of these.



when i saw sojourner by narrative made and sukkhacitta, particularly these pieces, i swear i screamed AIZOME (why do people go places with me? lol)

for real though, traditional indigo dying is in*cred*ible and i am in love with it.


more pieces from sojourner.



honestly though, the most exciting part of the whole exhibit had to be the ceramics of julie progin and jesse mc lin.  they are documenting  the changing landscape of porcelain production of jingdezhen. look. at. this. glaze.


LOOK AT IT


pieces in the "irony" series were made from parts that were found on factory floors and left to rust in bowls before firing. you can see the water marks.





many of the porcelain factories are closing and this duo uses molds that they have reclaimed to cast and cast and cast until the shape is entirely lost/the mold is too busted to use. it is very archaeological and so conceptually pleasing.





honestly, i could spend the rest of this post on the brilliance of progin and mc lin but then you wouldn't get to see part of sammy or's "a picture is worth a thousand words" which "celebrate(s) the art of chinese font design".  just...just watch these vids. i love this pieces so bloody much.

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finally, some odds and ends. no idea what this vid was about (sorry, i was getting tired.) 


but these samuel chan pieces stopped me in my tracks. (i am *really* into solid wood furniture that's gonna last rn and these are just beautiful. sleek. gorgeous.)


have a nice book that was on a samuel chan bookcase and then we'll get to


stanley wong which damn! such a great contemp take on classical chinese shapes!


nicol boyd and tomas rosen restaged a hong kong style food stall. here are some of the reflective bowls.


some more shots for atmosphere



(we FINALLY got to see the muddy waters mural!)


before i end with freeman lau's phantasmagorical lamp.


guys, i wish i had gone to this exhibit sooner. it was chock full of beautiful and refreshing things and concepts. i now have a very strong urge to visit hong kong. or, you know...maybe live there for a while...

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