Fányuàn is an art furniture brand co-founded by Yifan Li (yifanlichn.com) and Ningyue Qian (ningyueqian.com) in Shanghai 2021. Yifan Li has an MA in Textiles from the Royal College of Art. Ningyue Qian is studying for an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art.
We have recently specialised in Gold-Repaired Paper Lamps using traditional Chinese techniques, represented by one of Asia's unique repair techniques. In front of the light source, the cloud pattern displayed in the condensation of gold powder is one of the most free and random stages in the history of the development of the Han Dynasty cloud pattern, with a subtle and intricate momentum throughout the original Paper Lamp base structure.
The Fányuàn brand is built and developed with a unique Chinese aesthetic. We hope to bring a new and distinctive Eastern power to the global art and design field. As our brand name explains in Chinese, it symbolises the romantic notion of a flawless jade hidden in the landscape of the world. So the first story of Fányuàn is about ancient Chinese gardens. After in-depth research, visits and tours of various gardens, we selected the characteristics of the four elements - flowing water, stones, windows and ceilings - from the interactions between nature and man as structural representations of Chinese aesthetics. After abstractly deconstructing the structure and analysing the affectivity expressed in the poem, we created four different pieces of furniture: Gather Water Shelf, Cloud Table, Paper Lamp and Wave Screen Lamp. As well as promoting contemporary eco-friendly and healthy living, we made the structure of each piece as disassembled as possible, while retaining its unique shape and minimising storage and transport space.
In the three years that Fányuàn has been operating as an art furniture brand, in addition to the time we have invested in the research, design and production process, we have also maintained a close relationship with the Chinese art and design market. We have long-term supply and sales relationships with Bloom Studio (Shanghai), PAINTIQUE (Shanghai), Sepia Showroom (Shanghai) and Hodays Space (Chengdu).
EXHIBITIONS
Group Exhibition
Aesthetes’ Secret Garden (Shanghai: Bloom studio, 10 Jul - 13 Jul, 2021)
Through the looking glass (Shanghai: Bloom studio, 21 Aug - 29 Aug, 2021)
Tank art festival (Shanghai: PAINTIQUE, 30 Sep - 3 Oct, 2021)
White Lab (Shanghai: SEPIA, 26 Sep - 30 Sep, 2022)