Artist in residence

Chi Peng's apartment shows his passion for Chinese antique furniture and toys

Chi Peng, 28, is a rising Beijing star in contemporary art. His photo art has been exhibited around the globe in cities including Paris, Prague, Amsterdam and Stockholm.

His home in the Greenwich compound in Beijing's Yaojiayuan area gives the visitor a glimpse of what's going on in an artist's mind. His residence is filled with about 200 different antique toys, 50 Chinese antique furniture and some of his own creations. A little bit of everything fills each room of the 190-sq-m apartment.

"I have lived here for only three years, but it looks like I have been living here my whole life," he said.

In the hall hangs a work of photo art he created, a picture of himself naked facing a big building in the Wangfujing area.

"It represents a person who is against this building because it is in they way of him feeling free and is damaging the environment," he explained.

His bathroom has eight different-sized mirrors, all in wooden frames. You can't actually see your entire face in any of them, but they add an extra dimension to the room.

"The mirrors are very old. They belonged to my grandmother. I think they are very beautiful even if they don't fulfill their function," he said with a smile.

Artist Chi Peng stands in front of his photo work "World" in his living room.

Chi has many carpets that most people would throw away at first sight. They have holes, are unraveling and look bleached. They are several hundred years old. Many were bought for several thousand yuan and are from Xinjiang, according to Chi.

"This belonged to an officer of the former government and is more than 100 years old. It's one cut piece of a much bigger carpet that used to hang on the wall," he said, pointing to a red-colored carpet made of a thick woolen material.

Chi's passion for antique furniture started two years ago and his favorite place is Gaobeidian market in Chongwen district. One of his finest pieces is a beautiful carved closet divider made of nanmu wood crafted during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Chi admits he doesn't know much about the antique furniture he has bought and he seeks the help of his teacher who has a good eye for antiques. Their beauty, not provenance, is the main reason he buys them.

"I don't care how old it is, or the type of wood it's made of. The only thing I care about is the craftsmanship," he said.

Chi also collects antique toys during his travels with his exhibitions, most of them from Hungary and France. In his reading room there are two bookshelves, one filled with photo albums, the other with toys such as robots, stuffed rabbits, mini-cars and doraemon.

"I have a young face but an old mind. I think it's very important to keep the child in me," he said.

He has tried to make his own version of the popular Doraemon, but his are made of paper. "I am never proud of my art, but I am always proud of my life. I like to make things that make me happy," he said.

Chi likes to keep his bedroom simple. A big bed covers most of the space in the room with a TV on an antique cabinet. The thing that stands out are small hearts made of pink paper on which Peng has written down his dreams and give him inspiration for his photography.

He said what he is currently working on is a secret but he said: "My new photos will reflect my dreams and I have too many."