(CRIENGLISH.com)
Updated: 2008-04-03 10:19

Hong Huang(1st from Left), CEO of China Interactive Media Group, Gao Liang(3rd from Left) ,president of the Seasons Place Shopping Center and Alexander von Vegesack, Director of Vitra Design Museum( 4th from Left) attend the opening ceremony of A Hundred Years - A Hundred Chairs exhibition in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon. [CRIENGLISH.com/ Xu Liuliu]

Although it is April Fools' Day, the unique chair exhibition in the Seasons Place Shopping Center on Beijing Financial Street won't fool you. The 100 chair-models won't let you down.

Named A Hundred Years - A Hundred Chairs, the exhibition jointly launched by German Vitra Design Museum, the Seasons Place Shopping Center and China Interactive Media Group opened in the luxury shopping mall on Tuesday afternoon. Hong Huang, promoter of the exhibition, Alexander von Vegesack, Director of Vitra Design Museum and other guests attended the opening ceremony.

The Vitra Design Museum has one of the biggest and most important collections of modern furniture designs. This time, the museum introduces the chairs exhibition to China, providing us with the opportunity to get close to the museum's most beautiful pieces. The aim of this exhibition is to offer a view of the different periods of industrial furniture designs in this century.

From the curved wooden furniture popular in the 1890s, to the development of new types of plastics that gave rise to a wealth of creative fantasy in the 1960s, this show examines the important role technology, politics and culture played in industrial furniture design. Design played a significant role in cultural development at the beginning of the century. The exhibition presents chairs by Ron Arad, Charles Rennie Machintosh, Charles and Ray Eames, Philippe Starck, and Frank O. Gehry, and demonstrates each design era.

These names may be strange to us. However, as soon as we see the models, we will shout out without thinking, "I have seen the chair before." We can find the shade on today's designs from these models. These chairs witness the change of designs and human thoughts.

Combining art, design and shopping is a new consumption pattern and China's Seasons Place is the pioneer. Just as Gao Liang, CEO of the mall, said they want to show more than just luxury flagship stores. The center added a touch of culture, making it more like Manhattan and Shinjuku, where people not only buy expensive luxury goods, but also enjoy sharp and original art. And after last year's success of China original designing exhibition, the mall aims at turning itself into a free museum by launching more shows.

Hong Huang, promoter of the exhibition and CEO of CIMG, thought the mall very wise and they will further their cooperation in the future.

"They are quite brave in the fact that they would adventure into the area. And they say we are not shopping mall. We think what we should do is combining art, culture and shopping. And culture and shopping should go hand in hand. It should not be so separate."

The show will last for over one month, from April 1st to May 4th, 2008.

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