POWER
Dutch graphic design studio Thonik, stages its first retrospective in Shanghai.
Curator Gong Yan invited Thonik to stage a retrospective in the Shanghai Art Museum. The theme Power refers to Thonik’s graphic work that manifests itself powerfully both in the cultural domain and in the political arena - as in the campaign for the Socialist Party. The 25 posters that Thonik made on the occasion of Queen Beatrix’s silver jubilee were also on display in Shanghai.
"It is great to see that designers from totally different cultures share one another’s design strategies"
Carpets
The highlight of the exhibition was an installation of hand-knotted woollen carpets, based on existing designs. The hand-knotting of carpets is a dying trade that the Chinese avant-garde are working to protect. The carpets refer to early Dutch rituals and traditions.
Workshops and publication
The entire studio has travelled to Shanghai for workshops to students of Fu Dan.
Read a review of POWER in the ShanghaiDaily.com. After Shanghai, POWER is going on tour and will be seen in the NAi in Maastricht in March 2009. .
