At Dwell on Design, a glimpse of ‘Asia Now’

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Visitors to the Dwell on Design show this weekend in Los Angeles have come to expect modern home furnishings, outdoor furniture and home tours showcasing contemporary architecture. This year, one of the intriguing special exhibitions is ‘Asia Now: Exploring Design Culture.’

Curated by designboom, the exhibition includes furniture and tabletop items from 11 nations. One highlight: The premiere of work from Yii, an initiative created by the Taiwan Craft Research Institute that pairs local craftspeople with designers under the creative directorship of Gijs Bakker, a co-founder of the Dutch design firm Droog.

The collection not only includes traditional woven bamboo pieces in sleek contemporary shapes, but also bears the strong imprint of Bakker’s offbeat, often surreal blending of animal forms and classical shapes in ceramics. The Moon Rabbit Cup, above left, is by designer Hsiao-Ying Lin and craftsman Jun-Ching Tang. The collection’s carved wood pieces include the scarab-encrusted World Cup Reincarnation, above right, by Ching-Tian Cai.

-- David A. Keeps

CORRECTED: An earlier version of this post showed the Poetic Plastic table by Zhuo Wang. The table is included in the promotion of ‘Asia Now’ but will not actually be on display at the event.

Photo credits, from top: designboom, William Chen for Yii