LIANG YI TALKS
LIANG YI TALKS
LIANG YI TALKS
LIANG YI TALKS
LIANG YI TALKS
Angular Grammar:
1000 Years of Right-Angled Chairs
26th March - 12th September, 2025
Liang Yi Museum is delighted to present Angular Grammar: 1000 Years of Right-Angled Chairs, a special exhibition curated by renowned British author and collector Marcus Flacks. Featuring an array of chairs spanning a millennium of Chinese design, the exhibition showcases iconic pieces such as the rose chair, scholar’s chair, and ladies’ chair. Each reflects the craftsmanship, cultural significance, and creative innovation of classical Chinese furniture.
Marcus Flacks, a leading expert in classical Chinese art and furniture, brings a unique perspective to this exhibition. “It has always been my belief that human creativity and ingenuity is often at its greatest when working within, and pushing against, a canon of rules and convention,” says Flacks. This premise forms the foundation of Angular Grammar, which explores how the strict conventions of classical Chinese furniture design have inspired craftsmen to innovate and create extraordinary works of art. The right-angled chair, with its rigid structural requirements, serves as the perfect case study. Flacks explains, “Within the ‘grammar’ that dominates classical Chinese furniture design, none is stricter than the conventions that dictate the right-angled chair. Yet, it is precisely these constraints that have spurred craftsmen to devise inventive solutions, resulting in a remarkable diversity of designs.”
Selected Publications of Marcus Flacks:
Classical Chinese Furniture. London: Vendome Press, 2012.
Contemplating Rocks. London: Sylph Editions, 2013.
Custodians of the Scholar's Way: Chinese Scholars' Objects in Precious Woods. London: Sylph Editions, 2014.
Patches of Clouds: Wu Bin's Ten Views of a Lingbi Rock. London: Sylph Editions, 2020.
The Cloud Collector: And Other Strange Tales From The Ivory Crescent. London: Sylph Editions, 2021.
Chasing Clouds: Further Strange Tales from the Ivory Crescent. London: Sylph Editions, 2022.
Opening Times
Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm (by appointment only; HK$200 includes a guided tour of both special and permanent exhibitions; Wednesdays are open free of charge to full-time students with prior arrangement; Children under the age of 12 are not permitted)
