pili wu: plastic classic loop lacquered ming style chair for han gallery

‘loop’ chair by pili wu is made in beech wood and resin coated, ‘loop’ is available in red glossy, red mat, black mat, white semi glossy and natural

young taiwanese designer pili wu has added a loop armrest, a characteristic of the historical ming chair, to a simple chinese plastic stool. his ‘loop chair’ which comes in plastic, as well as a limited edition lacquered wood version of 99 pieces. both pieces were presented during beijing design week 2012 – ‘plastic classic loop chair’ was displayed within the ‘TRANS-design’ exhibition (located right next to designboom’s pop-up gallery in dashilar), and the lacquered limited number in coachangdi in the exposition ‘radical materiality’.

the classic ming-style chair is a symbol of social status and taste in asia. ‘in taiwan, plastic stools are very popular, seen on streets, alleys, and by street food stalls or ban dou (traditional taiwanese outdoor banquet, seen at weddings or celebrations). plastic chairs and stools have been present for a very long time, yet interestingly nobody knows about its inventors. their simple structure and fast production has enabled their popularity, and has turned them into classic pieces. similarly, the ‘loop’ chair aims to become a new classic of traditional chinese furniture. its elegant and reliable structure represents a certain social status and position. ‘loop’ is a chair that has two personalities in one body.’ says pili wu.

artisan tian-chang jian hand-lacquered the resulting chairs with 20 layers of natural lacquer, thus creating the well-known chinese lacquer ombré effect.

the ‘lacquered loop chair’ has been produced in collaboration with HAN gallery in taipei and ilivetomorrow in hong kong.

lacquering the wood limited edition with a red ombré effect

the exhibition ‘TRANS-design’: ‘radical materiality’ curated by nicola borg-pisani and ilivetomorrow from hong kong, proposed an exploration of radical attitudes in design with a selection of seductive and ironic objects developed by designers from all around the world such as china, japan, taiwan, germany, france, spain, portugal, canada, netherland, italy, poland, USA, etc.

2012 beijing design week (BJDW), held in beijing from 28th september to 6th october, featured seven sections:

opening ceremony, annual design awards, milan guest city, beijing design fair, geo city smart city-international information design exhibition,

the new york times beijing design forum 2012, and design hop.

the ullens center for contemporary art (UCCA) is the exclusive education partner for BJDW.

BJDW and UCCA have co-organized BJDW@UCCA talks, inviting important designers and institutes to talk about ‘upgrading the city by design’.

the talks were held from sep. 27 to oct. 2 at UCCA auditorium.