New creative space in Beijing offers a truly chic presentation

Photos of bottles found in an Amsterdam canal, vintage jewelry, antique coins and videos on light are displayed at a chic show at a new art space in Sanlitun, an entertainment hub in Beijing.

TRU-M, founded by Malaysian-American interior designer Michael Goo and Chinese fashion designer Wang Chu, opened in February with a show of large-scale installations focusing on the relationship between people and public spaces. The current show that opened on Wednesday assembles old things to create a sense of history in a modern way.

"We want to tell people that art is not distant from life. Art is life, and life is art. We are trying to do the show in a way that can attract youngsters," Goo says of his decision to set up an art space in a shopping area surrounded by hip stores instead of at an art hub in the city.

The show is divided into three parts to present the classical aura - bottles, vintage jewelry and antique coins.

Hans Fonk, an Amsterdam-based photographer and art director of the magazine Objekt, is presenting his series on bottles found in a canal in his city. These bottles are more than 300 years old and were thrown in by locals.

After decades of erosion, the bottles have changed colors, which reflect in his images against a black leather background.

Fonk was fascinated by the bottles after he first saw them at a friend's house years ago.

Before this series, Fonk produced another series on stones he found at the Forbidden City in Beijing. The series of photos were printed on rice paper, making them look like Chinese ink paintings. The photographer met Goo in February, and Goo invited him to display his bottle series at the ongoing show.

"We do shows based on our feelings," Goo says of how works are selected.

Young video artist Shu He is presenting an 18-minute film on colors of light, which the 23-year-old spent more than four years filming on a daily basis.

He says Goo saw his work on a friend's social media account and invited him to display his works.

"The space is to offer opportunities to talented young people who have little chance of showing their works to the public," Goo says.

Xing Jiaming and his wife, Karen, created pieces made from vintage jewelry. It took them several months to use such jewelry to make four paintings with different themes, including the "Egyptian eye" and "butterfly".

The works are produced by the couple's House of Willow brand.

"It is a challenge for us to turn jewelry into paintings. We had never done that," says Xing.

Goo says he wants young people to appreciate and enjoy art. That's why he combines fashion and design with contemporary art.

He even invited star chefs to design special menus for the inaugural show, which he says "was unexpectedly popular". Many guests asked when there will be another tailored "art dinner".

For the next show, he plans to go green. The space will invite artists to focus on bamboo to increase people's awareness of environmental protection.

dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn