Chairplay: Freeman Lau's 30 Years of Creations
Speaker
  • Lau Siu Hong Freeman Lau Siu Hong Freeman KL&K Creative Strategics Founder

    Having been working in the creative industry for over 40 years, Freeman has been doing a wide spectrum of creative works and achieved over 300 awards in different streams.

    Ever since the 90s, chair has been being an important medium for Freeman’s creations. He started to use chair as a metaphor for the exploration of different issues about human beings. In fact, chairs keep appearing in all sort of works by Freeman, including public art, graphic design, furniture design, product design and sculpture. Gradually, chair has become a signature of Freeman’s works. After the millennium, Freeman started to call his range of works about chair - “Chairplay”.

    The “Chairplay” series includes a range of furniture and sculpture. For furniture, he got the “Duo” which refers to the relationship between men and women; “Intertwined” the interpersonal relationship; “Chairligraphy” the artist’s affection of calligraphy; and “Chairfun” the relationship between human beings and the nature. For sculpture, he got “Chairplay I & IV”, “City”, “Agenda” and “Equilibrium”, so on and so forth. Through these works, he tried all sorts of materials and techniques through the collaboration with different production teams. He also kept pushing for the best of the traditional craftsmanship via his designs in order to enhance the production techniques.

    “Chairplay” had been shown around the globe via the invitations by different exhibitions, such as “The 8th International Mini Sculpture Exhibition(2003)” held by the University of Hawaii Art Gallery in USA, “Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme II: People • Chair(2003)” organised by Art Promotion Office of Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, “Of Ink and Chairs—Kan Tai-Keung + Freeman Lau, Art and Design Exhibition(2003)” taking place in DDD Gallery and Shizuoka University of Art and Culture in Japan, “X beyond O Calligraphy–Sign–Space” exhibition (2009) in Taiwan, “The New Aesthetics of Crafts – The Nomination Show of Chinese Contemporary Craftsmen (2010)” in Shanghai”, “Art Basel (2013)” in Hong Kong, “The 5th Gwangju International Design Biennial(2013)”in Korea, so on and so forth.




    Freeman co-founded KL&K Creative Strategics, and is currently the Vice Chairman of the Design Alliance Asia, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Design and Creative Industries. As a designer as well as a promoter in the field, Freeman’s great contribution is widely recognised in society, which therefore brings him a myriads of awards such as “World Outstanding Chinese Designer Award of DFA Design for Asia Awards” (2021).

    In September 2022, Freeman co-curated the “By the People: Creative Chinese Characters” exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

    Recent publications by Freeman include a biography with the same name as his exhibition “Freeman Lau & Design: Inter-dependent Decisions”, published by Chung Hwa Book Company in 2020, and a collective three-volume set with acclaimed designers Kan Tai-Keung and Hong Ko “3 Generations in 2 Places – Creative Trio” in 2022.

Chairplay: Freeman Lau's 30 Years of Creations

2276Thumbs Up
Session S9
Meeting room 设计殿堂·剧院
Time 12/21 13:30-17:00
Type Speech
Language Mandarin
Direction Design Thinking
keynote content
Content Introduction

Chairs, as a means of support for people to sit on, have always carried Freeman's thoughts and emotions in dialogue with the world. Throughout his 30-year creative career, Freeman has been passionate about various creative themes, one of which is chairs. Freeman first began engaging in creations involving chairs in 1995, and chairs have now become one of the hallmarks of Freeman's artistic career.

From initially symbolizing individual positions, Freeman developed the theme of chairs to further encompass harmony between men and women, as well as people's connection and coexistence in cities, thereby exploring the relationships between people and one's relationship with the rest of the world. At the same time, Freeman attempted to uncover further possibilities for chairs, such as their usage as a medium for public art and other art forms, as well as how chairs could be utilized in cross-sector collaborations with various industries, brands, artists and cultural elements.

Like the name "Chairplay" suggests, the chair series' creation has become an engrossing game in Freeman's life. From posters to public art, from local culture to international crossovers, from traditional craftsmanship to 3D printing, from children's furniture to meditation seats, Freeman has been playing with "Chairplay" for nearly three decades.

Participants Benefit

1、Perceive the process and ideas behind Freeman Lau's creations
2、Gain understanding on various creative themes
3、Explore possibilities for chairs as a medium
4、Obtain inspiration for future endeavors

Work Case
  • Agenda No.3
  • Chairplay Series (Sculpture)
  • Happy City
  • Ming Intertwined Roundback
Guess You Like
  • Agenda No.3 14
  • Chairplay Series (Sculpture) 24
  • Happy City 34
  • Ming Intertwined Roundback 44
联系客服
官方公众号×
添加IXDC官方微信,可以直接在线沟通 公众号ID:ixdcorg

长按识别二维码添加微信公众号

复制公众号ID长按二维码保存图片