13 February 2018
Zhu Xiaojie is one the best-known Chinese home furniture designers, and his creations move between traditional symbols and contemporary design.
He calls himself a “carpenter”, and his favourite material is wood. Zhu Xiaojie is recognised worldwide as one of the designers who best represent contemporary Chinese creativity, able to make his original mark on the international panorama. As happened on the occasion of the Milan Furniture Fair in 2012, where he curated the show entitled “Slow Seating Chinese Contemporary Design”: an exhibition of chairs, armchairs, stools, benches, sofas and other relaxation furniture made by a group of creative young Chinese designers, invited by the master to reflect on the concept of “sweet sitting”. And on the last 3 years at CIFF-Shanghai, where he curated the East Design Show displaying all the appeal and strength of Asian design and artisanship.
This was an invitation to “sit down, slow down and enjoy time”, which is the leitmotiv of Zhu Xiaojie creations: the designer believes that the chair, a fundamental piece of furniture in the Chinese domestic environment, associated with the tea ceremony and with the art of calligraphy, is the piece of furniture that “follows you most in your life, in your work, is what decides your place in the world”.
Using traditional materials, wood and bamboo, the “carpenter” gives life to refined design furniture, in which the craftsmanship skill merges with more contemporary techniques and taste. It is the face of creative art produced by the Asian country, contrasted with the absorbing production race in which today’s China is heavily involved.
His most famous creations include the chair that he designed for the Milan show, a tribute to the style of the Ming dynasty, un unequalled period of splendour in Chinese art history.
Zhu Xiaojie, the craftsman designer
A wonderful creation of Zhu Xiaoje
The famous chair created by the Chinese designer
The “cage” lamp