#ubi gallery

The exhibition will showcase the work of 13 artists connected to China and The Netherlands. Visitors will be confronted by Joke Schole's angry bear, who proclaims, "Clean up your own mess". Meanwhile, other artists such as Liang Li treat dust as a byproduct of human failure, incorporating it into her work as an "Award for Bad Conduct". Hortense de La Jonquière's masterpiece - a cabinet constructed of Beijing dust - shows how dust captures memories, reminders of things past. Prominent milliner Elisabeth Koch adopts "crust" material used in environmental cleanup to create hats intended to deflect dust on a daily basis. Finally, the Dutch design collective of Eva de Laat, ByBorre and the University of Eindhoven propose futurist clothing to shield those living in polluted urban environments. Find out more via the BJDW 2014 website.

Water is one of the most distinctive elements of the Dutch landscape, and it has influenced its population in so many ways. Amsterdam, for example, is built around canals. Through navigating the seas, The Netherlands was also able to import goods from China, which laid a solid foundation for a long-lasting history of trade relations and cultural exchange between the two countries.

With this in mind, Ubi Gallery has selected seven designers whose works are based around the theme of "water" and "sea life". The resulting exhibition will showcase bracelets made of sand, an installation of ceramic fishing floats, gold leafed anchovy fishes, floating silicon parasites, and more - with works from Agnes Fries, Attai Chen, Liang Li, Sun Jie, Qu Wanni, Yang Ziyi, and Yin Xiangkun. Details.

After a series of moves, Ubi Gallery will also unveil their final, permanent space at 60-62 Yangmeizhu Hutong, Dashilar during BJDW 2013. Don't miss the official opening on 28 Sept 2013!

When did you establish Ubi Gallery? And where are you located? 
I started Ubi Gallery via a "try out" exhibition, which launched during Design Hop: Dashilar at Beijing Design Week (BJDW) 2012. When we opened, we received a fantastic response and decided to continue the project as a result. We are currently located at 39 Yangmeizhu Street (the same spot where designboom was based during BJDW 2012), which is a great space: two floors, with a nice balcony, and of a good size. We will stay here until our final building - 9 Zhujia Hutong, Dashilar - is ready.

For 600 years, Dashilar has been one of Beijing's most prosperous and cultivated quarters. Located strategically near Qianmen gate, the area straddled royal and civil life, creating one of China's most vibrant marketplaces and entertainment venues, and hosting some of the country's oldest shops, as well as theatres attributed to the birth of Peking Opera.

The building in Zhujia Hutong is an old teahouse and has not been used for several years now. With the help of LocalDesignStudio and Dashila(b), this historical late nineteenth-century building will be renovated and, subsequently, used by Ubi Gallery. We are very much looking forward to our final move: the material, light and set up of this building is just amazing. And we will be happy to show this off again to everyone.

What does "Ubi" actually mean? 
“Ubi” means "where" in Latin. It refers to moving and arriving, and is concerned with asking questions.

The gallery offers a platform to those great designers and artists who, through their work, keep us curious. It is about objects made with care - because the material matters. Furthermore, the objects in Ubi Gallery are unique or made in limited edition. Every piece tells its own story and connects us with different artists from all over the world.

How have people responded to your gallery-store so far? 
I am amazed at how much time many of our visitors spend in the gallery. You can tell that they are carefully discovering the new field of art jewellery and asking questions to understand this specific discipline. Most are unfamiliar with jewellery made from alternative materials – they are used to seeing precious materials, such as gold, silver, jade and pearls, instead. It is great to discuss with them the freedom of artists to choose any material that best expresses their thoughts and concepts. Most visitors gain a new understanding and appreciation for the discipline. Consequently, they are more readily accepting of prices based not solely on material, but on the overall quality of the design, too.

We also have ceramic pieces for sale in the gallery, which seem to be much easier for people to relate to. They have been very popular and I have had to organise more stock as a result.

Although we are not focused on tableware, we do stock some special vases and bowls. Most of them are true art pieces featuring a contemporary design twist that is hard to find elsewhere. I mostly present Chinese artists from Jingdezhen, and foreign artists who have worked in Jingdezhen. In addition to these works, we have pieces from Korea and, hopefully, soon from Taiwan and other countries as well.

What are your plans for the future? I want to further develop my platform. At the moment, I have a great network of young creatives that I aim to grow in the coming years. The creative scene in Dashilar is still young, but I know that as more and more buildings in the area are renovated, there will soon exist a great offering of creative and cultural events. You can expect from me, at least, several design exhibitions, talks and lectures where I will share new work from both upcoming and established artists.

Opening: 2 Feb 2013, 16:00-18:30 Location: 39 Yangmeizhu Street (map) Weekly operating hours: Weds-Sun, 11:30-18:30