China Contemporary Cl

The first major survey of the new directions in style taken by the designers of Beijing, Shanghai, and other major Chinese centers. Parallel to China's rapid economic growth is a boom in the decorative and fine arts, in interior design, and in architecture. This book showcases some of the most exciting examples of the new wave of Chinese design through the stunning photography of Michael Freeman and the perceptive commentaries and interviews of Chinese journalist Xiao Dan Wang. The book is divided into four main sections: Continuity: in the Green T House, Beijing, for example, the elegant lines of Ming Dynasty chairs have been lengthened and curved to create artifacts of a spectacular modernity. Color focuses on the use of traditional color schemes in new materials, like the predominant subtle whites in the Beijing apartment of two graduates from the top art college in China, the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Conversion shows the ways in which older buildings (factories and apartment blocks) of the Communist era are being refurbished in visually exciting ways. Crossover explores the new China's willingness to embrace influences from other cultures, as in the spectacular Shanghai apartment of Pearl Lam, an internationally known art dealer. A directory of locations completes this visually spectacular account of the most advanced and exciting projects in new Chinese design. 304 color illustrations.