HONG KONG.- In recent years, Asian decorative art and design has carved out a position on the international art stage with its own unique design dialect spanning a broad range of style and themes. Celebrating this new wave of Asian decorative art and design, Sotheby’s presents the selling exhibition of Asian Design: China, Japan, Korea, which launching alongside the Hong Kong Spring sale series from 1 – 6 April 2016 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Featuring nearly 50 works by important designers from Asia, Asian Design responds to the mounting interest in this category not only in Asia, but internationally. This exhibition includes a special section dedicated to KANJIAN, a contemporary brand founded by celebrated Chinese singer Dadawa that is reviving craft traditions in new ways.

Kevin Ching, CEO of Sotheby’s Asia, said: ‘In 2012, Sotheby's pioneered the sale of international design furniture at auction in Hong Kong through our innovative “Boundless” series. This season, we are delighted to expand that mission further with a selling exhibition dedicated to Asian design. There is no question that decorative art and design are on the rise in Asia, and Sotheby’s is excited to meet the burgeoning interest in this fast-growing market with a first-class selection of contemporary design objects. We look forward to showcasing the very best of Asia's design talent to an international audience alongside our Hong Kong auctions this April.’

CHINESE DESIGN
Today’s contemporary Chinese design scene is in full bloom, led by a group of talented designers that has emerged to create a unique style of contemporary Chinese design rooted in the country’s five millenia of cultural heritage. Recontextualising aesthetics code and traditions from the past, these designers are rejuvenating them into new hybrid style of work for the present; inventing a new vocabulary to examine the contrast between historical and contemporary China in a way it has never before been evoked.

To demonstrate this evolution, Asia Design features work spanning three generations of designers, starting with such visionaries as Shao Fan and Shi Jianmin, who began their design careers in the 1990s with a focus on developing a new language for contemporary design within the constraints of traditional practice. Also included is Song Tao, who experiments with new materials and forms yet continues to reference traditional function and form, as well as members of the latest generation such as Li Naihan and Zhang Zhoujie, whose graceful designs incorporate technology and digitally-driven generative processes.

CHINESE DESIGN: SPECIAL SECTION DEDICATED TO KANJIAN
Founded in 2012 by famed singer, artist, documentary filmmaker, philanthropist, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and social entrepreneur Dadawa, KANJIAN is a social enterprise promoting contemporary design inspired by traditional Chinese material and craft. The organisation brings together prominent designers in China and abroad with local craftsmen, working together to produce designs ranging from contemporary lacquer tableware to minimalist black pottery.

In this special section, Sotheby’s presents more than 20 lots from KANJIAN. Highlights include Pottery Pot No. 1 (Ash Glaze Version), a ceramic set with an unconventional design; and a pair of Cell vases by Michael Young, whose vivid red and white orb-like forms evoking particles under a microscope, breath new life into the ancient tradition of cloisonné.

KOREAN DESIGN
While words like ‘heritage’ and ‘tradition’ are often associated with Korean furniture design, today’s designers often meld classical techniques such as lacquering and hand-crafting with contemporary forms. Take the use of colour in Korean design, which harks back to the golden age of Korean antiquity. Contemporary Korean furniture designers often follow the spectrum of the five Korean traditional colours – white, black, blue, yellow and red, representing metal, water, wood, earth, and fire, respectively – while exploring new material and form. Also at the heart of Korean furniture design is the traditional concept of baesanimsu, the notion of positioning the house with the mountainous landscape at the back and a stream of water in the front – a concept that is freshly interpreted by today’s emerging designers, among them featured artists such as Bae Se-Hwa, Kang Myung Sun, and Lee Jae-Hyo.

JAPAN DESIGN
Often labelled solely as minimal and simple, contemporary Japanese furniture design has come a long way from its imitative post-war roots. By fusing traditional approaches with avant-garde structures and forms, contemporary Japanese design today teems with tension and energy, mingling minimalism with dramatic and rich detail to profound effect. Featured artists include Shiro Kuramata and Nendo (Oki Sato), who push the aesthetics of furniture into uncharted waters as they play with traditional dimensions, colour, and function.