KennaXu Gallery སྒྱུ་རྩལ་འགྲེམས་སྟོན་ཁང་།

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The design team reflected on the relationship between gallery and art space, and discovered more possibilities of the gallery as a public space. Located in an old residential community, the site blends a strong living atmosphere with beautiful natural landscape, making it possible to integrating art aesthetics and learning into daily life.

Dimensions & Packaging

The project is 223 square meters in all.

Tags

Art gallery, Shenzhen, public space, color, freedom, openness, multi-sensory experiences

Production Technology

Latex paint, membrane, wooden flooring, ultra-clear glass, white tile, white stainless steel

Design Challenge

There were also some unfavorable conditions as converting the former residence into an art space. The original space consisted of two floors, which were narrow and dim. The first floor had a low ceiling, looking like a storeroom, while the second floor featured an old-styled, disordered and fragmented spatial pattern. The overall space looked so different from an art space.

Research

The building, constructed in the 1990s within an old community, is the place where the gallery owner Kenna Xu spent his childhood. It carries his deep affection for Shenzhen, and also breeds his dream of establishing a contemporary art gallery that finds a foothold in the local area and pursues global visibility.

Inspiration

The space is dominated by white hue, which produces a modern, simplistic spatial tone as well as an inclusive backdrop that reveals the authenticity of things. It can fully display the color, composition, aesthetics and thinking of exhibited paintings. The design incorporates a sense of "emptiness" to create a free and serene ambience, with a view to enabling harmonious interaction between light and shadow, nature and artworks, and thereby achieving the beauty of art.

Project Duration

The project started in November, 2018 and finished in September, 2019 in the Intersection of Yitian Road and Fuqiang Road, Futian District, Shenzhen, China.

Operation Flow

The unique windows shake off traditional designs, and act as openings for conveying messages. Meanwhile, those structures bring in the daily chatter of residents, sounds of footsteps and birdsong from outdoor groves, which become background music for the art space. The gallery seems to grow here and closely integrates with the old community.

Image Credits

Photo by: Kevin, Benmo Studio