On March 24th 16:00, Amy Li Gallery is delighted to present the newest series of design artworks by Naihan Li, called Bored to Death.
This is the first solo exhibition of Naihan Li in Beijing and the first design exhibition hosted in the Amy Li Gallery.
Design work is different than painting — Naihan Li has always insisted on her unique way of creation,
by combining design with art, practical function and ironic conceptual sensibilities.
Amy Li gallery also hopes to enrich the exhibition elements and forms. In this exhibition,
artist will make a new arrangement of the gallery space,
with scenario and interesting themes, in order to present some series of new and old works.
Including around 40 design works which about《COVER THE DANCE》、《THE LEGEND》、《THE CRATE》、《I AM A MONUMENT》and Sketchbook .
Naihan Li is one of the forefront Chinese design artists in China. Like many contemporary Chinese artists,
she has the background of education in the west. They treat Chinese traditional culture through criticism or rebellion,
but traditional culture has been deeply involved in their practice. In the Chinese palace, the style of the building
have the top five, four horns each have the head six, collectively known as "five ridges six beasts".
They are the spirit animals implied meaning of propitious,
decorative beauty and fire protection to eliminate the disaster to protect the building. In another context,
"five ridges six" is meant to say: don't know what to do,
bored to death. Li Naihan was born in Harbin, China. She moved to Beijing in the mid 80s,
and in 1997 she studied in Beijing no.4 high school. Afterwards,
she went to London to study at the Bartlett School for Design and Architecture.
She returned to Beijing in 2004 and set up Naihanli&Co design studio. After some years
of traveling around the world, she decided to use the creative power
of design to improve the negative effects of displacement, and to create a positive lifestyle.
Naihan Li takes her life as the core of creation, exploring the function and inspirations associated with it.
In 2011-2012, she made her first "container series" furniture, which
included everyday objects such as the sofa, bed and kitchen.
The "Container" series was inspired by the rapidly changing city of Beijing,
the uncertainty and adaptation necessary to react to the increasing globalization as a ‘ready-to-move’ way of life.
The design of the "container" series repositioned the furniture function in the traditional sense and gave it the
characteristics of modularity and movement. Meanwhile in the early 2006, she began a different series of work, called,
"I am a monument". At that time, Chinese people had a desire to move into a more modern way of life,
and the "monument series" represented the human need for symbolic objects — people can collect art,
so a city can be collected as well.
The CCTV tower cabinet, the Pentagon couch,
is not only visually representative and practical, but also demonstrates a strong ironic sense.
Similarly, the "Flammable" candle series is a collection of the world's most well known, tallest skyscrapers,
at the scale of 1:1000. Every skyscraper is a lonely tower; everyone can see people in the next building,
but can never touch each other;
it looks very close but is actually far away from each other…
the modern city gives people a feeling of loneliness.
Naihan Li deeps into her heart,
wanting to ‘burn’ these candles as a sign of returning to increasingly natural and symbolic productions.
In the "Flammable" candle series,
London and New York, Dubai and Taipei,
join horizons to form new super cities.
Naihan Li would like to invite all of you to bring home a new horizon, light them,
and enjoy watching the world melting, bringing light and warmth into your life.
As the wax from the candles melts and pools, this uncontrollable natural phenomenon will cause the skyscrapers to form into a
unique sculpture. After the "burning", they will form unique ruins that can yet be regarded as an interesting thing.
In addition, the space “Cover Ball: Dancing Cheek to Cheek" shows off a series of furniture inspired by classic 80’s themes.
Childhood memories of various dances, disco lights, and the like are realized through. The folding chairs dipped in gold,
for instance, are objects that would have appeared in any school classroom or local dancehall.
The green dado painting on the wall is also nostalgic reminiscences of the home.
In 2005, Google Earth was first published, and people could see the world’s topography and geomorphology online.
Through the process of looking at the earth through different levels of zoom, transatlantic mountain lakes, coastlines,
and rugged deserts revealed the almost magical natural patterns.
For this pair of mirrors, the face of the earth serves as material, utilized through digital processing technology.
The Exhibition’s largest work, “Team-work SOFA —— KAOSHAN“, are handmade sofas, in five meters diameter in a circle.
As a new series,
they are the first Naihan Li works to contain references to myths and legends.
Similar to her “I am a monument” or “Flammable” series, by playing with proportion,
the world is placed in the palm of the hands of those who engage with the work.
The audience sits on the couch, laying like immortals in the mountains, carefree, and at ease.
Naihan Li’s vivid contemporary nature is born with the uninhibited and the spirit of play.