BJDW: Art & Design

The line between design and art is a fine one, and that's something various exhibits at BJDW are exploring to interesting effect. CreativeHunt paid a visit to ChART Contemporary, currently housed in Dashilar Alley, where sisters Megan and KC Vienna Connolly have put together a show that considers the function and significance of the home, all through some pretty fabulous art.

The Beijing-based duo work with real estate agencies in China's second and third tier cities to find vacant, unusual spaces – buildings either waiting to be sold, or, more likely, facing imminent demolition. They then invite local artists to use the space for one-day pop-up events, showing the house, factory, office or whatever in a new, unexpected and, importantly, functional light.

The pair recently traveled to Sichuan to work with local artist Chen Ke who transformed a 10sqm underground residence into A Room of One's Own. The sisters have now brought Chen's gorgeous hand-embroidered objects and furnishings to Beijing as part of their showcase, and excitingly, are working with Hong Kong furnishings brand, Open House Living to reproduce the art pieces as home design objects.



Downstairs, Zhang Xiangxi's meticulous Four Generations is not only impressive, but also a must-see for anyone with fond memories of childhood dolls houses. Built inside an old television set, the artist has created a miniature home, complete with functional screens, real goldfish and a simply astonishing level of detail.

Further along Dashilar is another exhibition also exploring the significance of home and everyday objects. Curated by BJDW creative director Aric Chen, Silent Heroes is a multi-sensory show featuring Chinese actress Zhou Xun. Seemingly innocuous objects from her childhood are presented as gallery pieces, imbued with nostalgia through a soundwalk in which the actress recalls the stories behind her grandfather's old steamers, grandmother's chairs and her own school graduation certificates.



Adjacent, current residents of Dashilar have been invited to contribute their own objects and stories, all making for an exhibition that is not only charming, but also effective in pushing the viewer to reconsider everyday design through personal narratives – not to mention the real, street-level stories of this fascinating area of Beijing.



Our absolute favorite art-design crossover show, however, is hands down A Day in the Life of Ernesto Bones, curated by London designer Ab Rogers and co-created by a whole slew of creatives: art critic Adrian Searle, celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, curator Jane Withers and museum director Dejan Sudjic, to name but a few. The show came about as part of the Stanely Picker Fellowship from England's Kingston University. A great supporter of the arts, Picker died in 1982, leaving his home, incredible furniture and a trust fund – not to mention a great deal of inspiration for the likes of Ab Rogers and co.



The show comprises various design pieces and 24 narratives, each describing an hour in the day of fictional character, Ernesto Bones. As a starting point, writers were given the last two sentences from the previous chapter and an object – be it a phone, a cooker, cutlery or whatever. Utterly absorbing, it's nicely housed in a crumbling hutong house, and, like Chen's and ChART's exhibitions, here's another that references the home and instills the sometimes mundane, sometimes bizarre objects with a curious sense of mystery… in short, it's fabulous and marks another stellar contribution from BJDW's partner city of London. Bravo!