Exhibition Introduction
Since first being invited in 2010 to exhibit at the Milan Design Museum—one of the highest benchmarks in the global design world—and receiving an enthusiastic response from the international design community, Taiwan has now been invited to participate for the third consecutive year. This year’s exhibition not only occupies the core Impluvium gallery, but also marks Taiwan as the only country from Southeast Asia and the Chinese-speaking world to exhibit for three years in a row at Milan’s most prestigious design museum, once again dazzling Milan Design Week. To allow audiences in Taiwan to experience the same highlights, the exhibition Taiwan Contemporary Chairs is recreated at the Craft Design Gallery of the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute.
Featured Works
Floating (《飄》), created by emerging designer Fan Cheng-tsung and master bamboo craftsman Chen Kao-ming, is made from resilient Taiwan moso bamboo. Using nine spherical forms as its structural base, finely split bamboo strips are intricately interwoven by hand, resulting in a bamboo chair that appears as light and airy as a drifting cloud.
The Bamboo Lady (竹夫人), a cylindrical bamboo cooler traditionally used by Taiwanese families during hot summers, is reimagined by designer Lo Yu-fen and bamboo-weaving artist Su Su-jen. Drawing on a refined feminine sensibility, they transform the bamboo form into elegant, flared chair legs reminiscent of a full skirt, paired with colorful cotton and linen cushions. The resulting Tutu Chair Series (《蓬蓬裙椅》) exudes a strong sense of contemporary fashion.
In Three Generations Under One Roof (《三代同堂》), designer Tsai Yi-cheng collaborates with woodcarving craftsman Chen Mao-hui to reinterpret the traditional Chinese family structure. Six drum stools in three different sizes—representing elders, adults, and youth—nest together like Russian dolls and can be freely combined or separated. The design accommodates all ages while responding flexibly to the spatial needs of modern living.
Everyday and Inscribed (《日常與銘刻》), created by young designer Kuo Che-chen and stone sculptor Chen Pei-tse, brings together three distinct materials—hard sandstone, Taiwanese zelkova wood, and stainless steel. Fleeting moments of daily life are solidified and permanently commemorated through stone carving, achieving a poetic fusion of everyday furniture and sculptural art.
(Photo credit: National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute)
The Light of Taiwan Shining at Salone Satellite
Another major exhibition focus is located on the basement level, spotlighting two Taiwanese emerging design teams that gained international attention at Salone Satellite in Milan. Designers Tseng Hsi-kai and Chen Han-hsi, who met at the Royal College of Art in the UK and recently founded Poetic Lab, presented their hand-blown glass lighting work Ripple (《波光》) for the first time at Salone Satellite. The piece won third prize at the Salone Satellite Award and went on to claim the top honor at the Design Report Award during the Milan Furniture Fair, propelling the duo onto the international design stage.
This award-winning work is now exhibited in the basement gallery of the Craft Design Museum. Through variations in thickness and form across the glass surface, light is refracted into shimmering patterns, evoking ripples reflected from beneath the sea or beside a pool. The poetic interplay of light and shadow brings a sense of cool serenity, offering visual relief amid the heat of summer.
