THE DINING ROOM AS ART

The artist Shao Fan, whose home appears elsewhere on these pages, embodies a modern classical spirit that is a little unusual in contemporary China. Not only does he believe strongly that China’s art and style must be inspired by its own traditions rather than those of the West, but his works, which are immensely varied, ranging from architecture to painting, importantly include furniture pieces. These, such as the tables shown here, are at the same time completely functional and yet provocative works of art. Shao Fan’s method, which he has made very much his own, is to deconstruct either original Ming pieces or versions manufactured to the same high standard of cabinetwork in his workshop, and insert and attach functional sections from modern materials such as steel and acrylic. On one level, this deconstructing of furniture in the Ming style and combining it with contemporary materials and design, expresses philosophical and cultural changes in Chinese society, while associating our memory and behavior with Chinese dining etiquette. But on a deeper philosophical level, we have to confront what the artist calls “the inherent drama of the incompatibility of their parts”. By creating works that are also beautiful pieces of furniture intended to be used in a normal way, the artist subverts the users by increasing attention over a long period on the inherent irony and discontinuity of modern China.

Shao Fan both designed this house for his friend and neighbor and furnished the dining room with a table that is a functional work of art, made by fusing two wooden side tables with a stainless steel rectangular center section. The black lacquer cabinet behind is Qing dynasty.

Below left A detail of the traditional cabinetwork that went into the table on the opposite page, applied to both wood and Perspex/Plexiglas sheeting.

A U-shaped ‘Tiao’an’ in one living room. This traditional type of narrow side table is normally rectangular in shape, but Shao Fan challenges the accepted convention with this three-legged interpretation.

This table, made entirely in the artist’s workshop, is in the Ming style, with everted flanges, but is constructed from both wood and Perspex/Plexiglas in a traditional cabinetwork manner. It represents the conflicts faced by contemporary Chinese in accommodating tradition and modern life.