8C Studio ✕ The One Art Season

Synergy of Life: A Living Art Exhibition – Retreating into an Urban Sanctuary

The Second Session of The One Art Season, themed “Urban Reflection,” hosted by Top San Hsiang, has brought an artistic feast to audiences in Changsha. This season of the festival features two major concurrent exhibitions: “Awakening-Freud & Contemporary Arts” and “Synergy of Life: A Living Art Exhibition.” Curated by 8C Studio, “Synergy of Life: A Living Art Exhibition” is guided by the Eastern philosophical concept of “Three begets all,” and uses 8C Art Space, an urban art and culture space that accommodates diverse possibilities, as a container. The exhibition invites the audience to retreat into an urban sanctuary built with design and art pieces, international art furniture, and classical Eastern furniture, to reflect on Eastern aesthetics, ponder contemporary life, and reconnect with art, life, and self in the passage of time.

Ms.Zhong Weihua, Vice President of SANY Group, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony
Mr.Danny Yung, a pioneer of Chinese experimental art, shared his experience participating in the art festival
Mr.Zhou Jian, the curator, shared his curatorial insights
(From left) Mr.Zhou Jian, curator, Mr. Yu Tao, artist, Mr. Danny Yung, artist, and Ms. Peng Yang, co-founder/design director of 8C Studio, engaged in a captivating salon discussion

At the scene of “Synergy of Life: A Living Art Exhibition”

Peng Yang, co-founder of 8C Studio and design director and curator of “Synergy of Life: A Living Art Exhibition,” shared the vision and aspirations behind this exhibition：

Q1：What prompted the collaboration between 8C Studio and Top San Hsiang’s “The One Art Season”?

8C：8C Studio followed Top San Hsiang’s inaugural “The One Art Season” and found our understanding of design, art, and life aligned. Top San Hsiang, a unique Changsha icon, offers stunning river views and showcases PEI Architects’ work, boasting rich natural and cultural resources. Therefore, it was our first choice when 8C Studio planned a landmark urban gathering space in Changsha. We aim to collaborate with Top San Hsiang to make 8C Art Space a versatile urban art and culture hub. Through the interplay of space, design, and art, we aim to facilitate a dialogue among the city, design, art, life, and people, ultimately shaping future lifestyles. This vision led 8C Studio to curate its first exhibition within the art season.

Q2：The exhibition theme is a distillation of the creators’ spirit and thoughts. What is the deeper meaning behind this theme?

8C：The exhibition theme is “Synergy of Life: A Living Art Exhibition.” The repetition of the character “生 (sheng)” three times evokes the Taoist philosophical concept of “Three begets all,” which implies the process of all things in the universe changing from nothing to something, from singularity to diversity. We highlight the number three because it reflects a recurring pattern of three interacting elements, such as the synergy among Top San Hsiang, the 8C Studio brand, and the city; the resonance between design & art, space, and the audience; and the interconnectedness of livelihood, being, and design-art ecology. We envision 8C Art Space as a vast container, encompassing all possibilities. Everything here is a community. Through design & art works, we will create diverse lifestyle scenarios, inspiring audiences to dialogue with themselves, anticipate life, and the audience’s response contributes to a co-creation. Everyone shares a bountiful art experience.

Q3：Through this exhibition, what does 8C Studio hope to convey to the public?

8C：8C Studio continuously explores how people’s lifestyles are evolving in the present and near future. In the exhibition, 8C Studio fully integrates artworks, furniture, and space to visualize our understanding of diverse living scenarios, inspiring the audience to imagine their own lives. Inspired by the resurgence of Eastern culture, we invite the audience to appreciate the beauty of Eastern craftsmanship through classical furniture, to experience firsthand the exquisite skills of artisans, and to explore the possibilities of contemporary Eastern living. Additionally, we also hope to help people detach from the fast pace of life and settle into this urban haven. By engaging with a painting born from lengthy contemplation and furniture crafted over years, the audience can recalibrate their sense of time, allowing their over-stimulated minds and bodies to unwind.

We used the design and artistry of the space to open up a space for the audience’s hearts and minds and allow feelings to flow freely, ultimately. In this setting, we presented various slices of life, hoping to trigger memories of specific moments of their lives: perhaps wandering through an old residence or basking in the morning sun of a European city. We aim to help the audience recover those moments of life lost to busyness, re-experiencing the peace and pleasantness of those times—a bond we cherish with our audience.

Q4：With a clear concept in mind, how did 8C Studio translate its ideas into a tangible presentation?

8C：Following the Taoist principle of ‘Dao Operates Naturally,’ we avoid deliberate arrangements, allowing art and furniture to blend seamlessly throughout the space, creating organic ‘slices of life.’ The second floor, for example, draws inspiration from ancient literati gatherings and contemporary reading. In the past, these gatherings in nature involved poetry, painting, chess, and Guqin—essentially social interactions. Today, recognizing reading as a vital connection, we created a study. Here, visitors interact naturally with the setting. Bookshelves facilitate immersive reading, while sofas, tables, and lamps encourage conversation. Visitors can also enjoy tea, calligraphy, meditation, and piano, bringing a sense of relaxed ancient lifestyle to the present.

(Left) Peng Yang, Co-founder of 8C Studio / Design Director

Q5：How did 8C Studio select the artworks and furniture from a vast collection to fit this exhibition?

8C：Both artworks and furniture ultimately find their home in people’s lives. Therefore, our selection process begins with aligning the pieces with the living scenarios we aim to present. In this exhibition, visitors will encounter numerous works by artists from the 1980s to the 2000s. We aim to showcase emerging artists, foster public appreciation for their work, and inspire creativity. The furniture mainly consists of Ming-style pieces, which possess a refined structure and an enduring charm, creating a compelling collision between tradition and contemporary when juxtaposed with the artworks.