Beyond Art - a museum exhibition curated by Lu-Xiang Wang and Zhang Zi-Kang and produced by Yue-Cheng Chen - offered (Milan, Stelline Foundation) - a sensorial experience on both sides of art and design, a sort of discovery journey through the oldest rituals and secrets of Chinese culture.
Three contemporary artists evoke the ancient culture of China, seemingly far from contemporary images, but still present in today's society, to make art a daily pleasure.
Lu-Sheng Pan and Fang Ye, renowned names of contemporary Chinese culture and design, lead to Italy what they call the 'new Chinese Renaissance': a fusion between the practicality of our contemporary way of life and those sophisticated and delicate tastes of the ancient tradition, now seemingly forgotten. The third artist involved is Frederick Rickmann, a Danish designer who, with his woven works, manages to blend Western art and Chinese handcraft tradition.
MORE THAN INAUGURATION - From exhibit to experience
More than a mere account of an event, the following lines tries to tell the story of a physical and intellectual experience between ancient and modern, between East and West, between art and design, as the one occurred in occasion of the opening event of 'Beyond Art' at the Fondazione Stelline, during which everyone were able to sense firsthand the deep and fine atmosphere full of enthusiasm, curiosity and oriental charm.
Among the scent of incenses and flowers, and the taste of Chinese tea and ceremonial wine, after a short but incisive presentation of the event, the opening of the exhibition kicked off with the collective signing of two big Chinese lanterns, both made of natural fiber woven by all the presents: artists, authorities and guests, as all participants have felt.
In the hall dedicated to the exhibition, which opens on the right side of main entrance, after the bookshop where many illustrated brochures of the exhibition are available for free, we meet in succession 4 microcosms, 4 small exhibitions curated by the artists mentioned, each one dedicated to a Chinese ancient ceremony/philosophy, reinterpreted in a contemporary way.
Climbed few steps up, guests see the first two 'rooms': the first one on the left is dedicated to the incense ceremony while the one on the right is inspired by the art of floral arrangement. Those spaces are followed in sequence by other two 'rooms' respectively dedicated to the tea ceremony and to the reinterpretation of a traditional meeting of Chinese intellectuals, during which it was usual to taste a fine wine, which was been offered only on these occasions.
At the opening ceremony, everyone was able to enjoy the experience of living in firsthand ancient rituals, such as the fragrant incense ceremony. Every visitor, under the smiling and expert guidance of young Chinese women whose words and whose gestures (always translated and explained by an interpreter, in order to make the experience as direct and engaging as possible), has been able to sit on one of 5 sides of a low pentagonal table and arrange a mixture of incense (one of the 5 available, as 5 are elements - water, earth, fire, wood and metal - of Chinese philosophy to which this rite draws) in a suitable small box, made up of metal components, and finally enjoy the ancient aroma of burning incense.
Just in front of the table for the incense ceremony, here is a second chance to immerse themselves in different ambiance, very old and full of meanings, almost a silent language, thanks to a layout completely in bamboo, dedicated to the colorful ritual of flower arrangement. Again, an expert of this fine art introduced anyone who wanted to the principles of this ancient practice with refined elegance but simple words.
Continuing, we meet other two 'rooms': the first one dedicated to the well-known, but in fact little known, tea ceremony and the lastly inspired to the evocation of refined old-time meetings among intellectuals, during which it was taking place the ancient ritual of tasting a clear and refined liqueur, served, typically only on those occasions, painstakingly in potteries made with a very rare and valuable technique, called 'raindrop'.
At the inauguration, another Chinese hostess welcomed visitors, explaining the mastery and fine technique required for the creation of the magnificent hand-tied fabrics of this context and the rarity of the wonderful black potteries, from which the host and his guests, sipped ceremonial wine, whose modern version was possible to tasting during the opening event.
As for the ritual of tea, through the exhibition of objects, perfumes and explanations that may reveal something new of this very ancient ceremony, the opening event offered a new and deeper interpretation of this essential moment for the culture of classical China.
In particular, during the inauguration was possible to relive two different tea ceremonies: the one of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 aC) and that of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 aC), as direct evidence of the richness and uniqueness of this ancient tradition.
For those who were present, and here I speak in first person, this event has been an unforgettable experience to take with him 'beyond' the opening evening and to recommend to those who want to give a look, rather than dive deeply in this refined, but simple way to meet the Chinese art and design [as evidenced by the photos below, for which we thank sincerely the photographer and the Chinese press who wanted to send them to us].
[Sarah Giuseppetti]
