Dream Maison
In pursuit of her legacy, the iconoclastic jewellery artist Cindy Chao dazzles Shanghai with her newest maison
Her breathtaking jewellery creations are works of art in miniature, statement pieces that are part of the most prestigious museum collections, such as the Smithsonian’s Natural Museum of History in Washington, DC and the Musée des Arts Décoratif in Paris. It’s only fitting that Cindy Chao make a bold statement with her newest maison.
It’s a landmark within a landmark, located in the Somekh Building one block away from the Bund. The Cindy Chao Shanghai Maison is the first showroom for Cindy Chao The Art Jewel in mainland China, and it opens just as the brand celebrates its 15th anniversary.
With a streamlined design, warmed by dark wood and permeated by a cosy elegance, the maison evokes both the hushed splendour of a temple dedicated to art, and the inviting ambience of a home. In keeping with Chao’s vision, this is an invitation- and appointment-only space that transports collectors to an extraordinary artist’s world; the journey begins the moment they step through a magnificent bronze door by Frenchswedish sculptor Ingrid Donat, and continues as
they are greeted by a space of collaborative artistry featuring the work of Ingrid Donat, world-renowned Dutch architect Tom Postma and French designer Hervé Van der Straeten.
With a sculptor father and an architect grandfather, Chao has art, naturally, in her DNA. It was important for her to create a museum-calibre showroom for her art jewels, so she invited Postma, in addition to Donat, to co-design with her a one-of-a-kind space. Much like each Masterpiece she creates, everything in this maison is handcrafted and one-of-a-kind, a stunning east-west fusion, where Asian aesthetics meet European artistry and craftsmanship.
Donat also created another signature feature, a golden back wall in the VIP room that is inspired by tribal art, where textures imbue the space with depth, sheen and movement.
Chao has long admired Postma; he conceptualised and developed the Cindy Chao The Art Jewel booth at TEFAF Maastricht 2020. For the Shanghai maison, he drew inspiration from early eastern and western religious architecture. He also designed several pieces of furniture throughout the space to reflect Chao’s personality and style, including a library desk, a round table, side tables, door handles and built-in furniture. The pièce de résistance is a showcase in cast bronze and handsculpted by Postma himself, the perfect and only platform for the display of a selection of art jewels.
Much like her jewellery, the maison is a stunning eastwest fusion, where Asian aesthetics meet European artistry and craftsmanship