Shanghai Riddle, an exhibition of new work by Dutch designer Maarten Baas, will open at Contrasts Gallery in Shanghai next month.

The show will present work produced by Baas while on the gallery’s residency programme in China, as well as new pieces from Baas’ existing collections.

The exhibition runs from August 15 to September 4.

Here’s some info from Contrasts Gallery:

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CONTRASTS GALLERY PRESENTS THE SHANGHAI RIDDLE
THE FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION OF THE WORK OF DUTCH DESIGNER MAARTEN BAAS IN CHINA
AUGUST 15 – September 4, 2008

No. 133 Middle Sichuan Road, 5/F / Shanghai, China 200002
Vernissage: August 15, 2008 / 6pm-8pm

SHANGHAI – Contrasts Gallery will present The Shanghai Riddle, Dutch designer Maarten Baas’ first solo exhibition in China from August 11 – 30, 2008 (TBC). Featuring works inspired by the designer’s experiences in China, the exhibition will include the latest iterations of his Sculpt, “Hey, chair, be a bookshelf!” and Smoke series, as well as new versions of his carved wood interpretations of plastic furniture. The exhibition will be on view at Contrasts’ Sichuan Road gallery (No. 133 Middle Sichuan Road, 5/F) and will open with a vernissage on August 15, 2008, from 6pm – 8pm.

While participating in Contrasts’ residency program, which brings Western artists to China to study local artistic and cultural practices, Baas became fascinated with traditional Chinese woodcarving; this exhibition is dominated by the results of this interest. His work pushes the boundaries of this time-honored Chinese craft, while also revealing the designer’s playful imagination.