Indonesian Eames' enthusiasts will be thrilled to know that the Essential Eames exhibition which opened last September at REACH in Hong Kong, will be installed in Gandaria city, Jakarta for a limited time. Our Indonesian friends will be able explore the life and works of Charles and Ray Eames first hand. Based on the book “An Eames Primer” by Eames Demetrios, the exhibition is segmented into various sections, corresponding to the chapters of the book. Visitors are first greeted by the walls of Charles and Ray’s life, where we explore the humble beginnings of Charles Eames who as a young teenager lost his father and had to support the family to his travels in Mexico with only 75 cents in his pocket to his tenure at Cranbrook as design lecturer. Ray’s wall explores her artistic endeavours, particularly in painting and textile design. Visitors then dive deep into the many facets of their work from architecture to film, toys, products and furniture.

The Jakarta exhibition will feature a unique interpretation of the Eames Case Study House #8. Marcello Sidharta, project lead of appointed design partner Sidhart Architect was inspired by the design philosophy and approach of the Eames. He embraces the high ceiling of the Gandaria space recreating the facade of the iconic Eames House Case Study #8. The space is proudly sponsored by Herman Miller authorised dealer in Indonesia - PT forum.

Visitors to the space will be able to explore a range of the latest Herman Miller products including the Eames Lounge and Ottoman in white leather and Yves Behar's SAYL chair. The exhibition will be officially opened by Eames Demetrios on the 25th April. This exhibition is open to public, admission is free.  We're really looking forward to the launch and meeting our Jakarta audience. The Essential Eames page and our facebook page will keep you up to date with what's happening.

We have always admired the work of Australian artist Christina Waterson, whose sculptural pieces reflect her background in architecture and design. So naturally we are very keen to get to her latest exhibition Trace which opens in Melbourne's Pin-Up Gallery this week (15 March - 12 May, 2012). Waterson has recently completed a Winston Churchill Fellowship exploring the origins of patterns and their connection to traditional craft, design and architecture whilst travelling throughout Japan, China and Turkey. This latest exhibition is a response to her research experience and features pieces in rubber, leather and felt that embody "a 3-dimensional ‘trace’, sketch or echo of past trajectories." A preview of two pieces to be exhibited, above and below.

If you're not familiar with Waterson's work check out her website and her tracepattern blog, which lovingly documents her fellowship research.

Posted by Lauren Evans

Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art compliments the Queensland Art Gallery building and opened in 2006 to architectural acclaim, it really is quite a magnificent building as you can see from the exterior photo above. The Gallery of Modern Art exhibits art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and it's flagship project is the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. It is the only major series of exhibitions in the world to focus exclusively on the contemporary art of Asia, the Pacific and Australia and the 2012/13 Triennial will mark the 20th anniversary, being the seventh Asia Pacific Trieinnial the gallery has held. This has led to the establishment of The Australian Centre of Asia Pacific Art (ACAPA) which is the research base of the triennial and an invaluable resource for scholars and artists interested in studying Asian Pacific art.

The gallery has a vast collection of Australian, International and Asian works which are continually updated. They run a fantastic Children's Art Centre and Cinémathèque that shows the work of significant international, Asian, Pacific, Australian and Indigenous Australian artists. See their website for more details.  

(above) Zhu Weibing, Ji Wenyu | People holding flowers (installation detail) 2007 | The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art.

March will be an exciting month for India as New Delhi hosts the country's very first international design event, the India Deign Forum. The nine day event will begin with Design Week, an instructive week of workshops, screenings and exhibitions around the city (March 2-8) and will culminate in a Design Forum, two intense days of design talks (March 9-10) with some big international names making the list ( a few speakers featured above). It's being described as Christian Louboutin meets Subodh Gupta meets Rem Koolhaas - all on home turf. It's great to see India taking the stage for the first time as the host of an international design event, it's sure to lead to good things. See the website for more details on speakers and events.

We are excited to learn that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has designated 2012 as Hong Kong Design Year (HKDY). The year long program aims to nurture young talent, create value for businesses, focus on sustainable design and celebrate excellence and the city's strengths and achievements as a creative, design led city. Some of the exhibitions sound fantastic, such as the Toys Paradise Exhibition featuring around 800 toys made in Hong Kong over the decades. We've also marked the Greater China Illustration Awards Exhibition on our must see list, as well as the Hong Kong International Jewellery show but there are plenty more to choose from - check out the calender for more information. We'll aim to bring you some highlights as the year progresses, as 2012 is looking like a year ripe with potential for design afficionados in Hong Kong.

Posted by Lauren Evans

Those of you in Singapore might like to check out the international art fair Art Stage Singapore on now until the 15 January at the Marina Bay Sands Convention and Exhibition Center. Over 100 galleries  are exhibiting and there is also a lecture series, various fringe programs and art related activities over the four fair days. Art Stage Singapore prides itself on its strong Asian identity and support of the best emerging Asia Pacific galleries, that show alongside a select few Western galleries that compliment the Asian context. It should be a fabulous show and on a side note, we must say we like their ad campaign featuring a series of colourful art world identities - two of which we've shown here.

We were fascinated to learn of the new Eames Exhibition that's recently opened in Los Angeles, California (News: Collecting Eames Exhibition Opens HM Lifework blog). The exhibition is by vintage retailer JF Chen, who has collected over 450 Eames pieces including, furniture, toys and even an Eames designed pavillion. It's the first time this many Eames pieces have been shown together in one place, which makes it very significant... and here's the clincher: every piece in the exhibition is for sale (at the right price of course). We would love to see it in real life but may have to settle for the accompanying book Collecting Eames, The JF Chen Collection.

 If you can't make it either, check out Cerentha's behind the scenes tour over at the Lifework blog and live vicariously like we did. We also enjoyed learning more about the intriguiing JF Chen and his collection, through a great article we found at the Eames Design website Shop Talk at JF Chen.

The Broached Colonial Exhibition piqued our interest for its original and historically focused brief. Six contemporary designers (five Austraian and one British) were asked to design a piece of furniture, informed and inspired by research into Australia's Colonial period. For example Adam Goodrum's reponse is The Birdsmouth Table (above) inspired by the Birdsmouth Mast on ships crucial to colonial empires. Whereas Trent Jansen was moved by researching the marriage of a colonial man to an aboriginal woman and the blended family they created, through his Briggs Family Tea Service. The resulting six limited edition pieces are as diverse as they are bespoke and include a table, lighting, tallboy and sandstone furniture. The exhibition runs in Sydney until November 20th, see the Broached Commissions website for more information.

We're looking forward to 100% design at the Shanghai Exhibition center this week, 3-5 November. Over 140 brands from 20 countries will be showcasing their wares including furniture, interior products, textiles, fittings and finishes. 100% design will showcase international brands, but will also put a spotlight on the thriving local interior design scene, with many local companies participating. The top ten local brands will be brought together in The Director's Cut, showcasing creativity and ingenuity in product design. The 100% Futures should also be a highlight, an exhibition of young and emerging designers. Well worth marking in your diary. 

Check out the spectacular installation at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation in Sydney at the moment by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka. Waterfall comprises of two exquisite tables made from optical glass and approximately 500,000 translucent drinking straws all of which draw on light to complete the installation. Yoshioka established his design studio in 2000 after a ten year working relationship with Issey Miyake. His client list includes names such as Kartell, Moroso and Swarovski. Waterfall runs until December 17th, 2011.

.