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Member Spotlight: Sean Zhang, IDSA to show new work at Paris Design Week 2020

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Sean Zhang, IDSA is the founder and creative director of the New York-based design studio Ocrùm, known for creating furniture, lighting, mirrors and decorative accessories that encompass a timeless yet contemporary aesthetic. Recently, Ocrùm launched a new color option for the Orizon mirror: Coral Pink. The piece is unique, says Zhang, in that is “made by a special technique from the glazing process,” and will only be made in 50 pieces for a limited edition.

The Orizon mirror also will be presented during Paris Design Week 2020. The exhibition is organized by Triode Paris—the first showroom in Paris, Zhang notes, “to promote a new young generation of American designers, the majority of whom are now internationally renowned.” Triode will present a selection of mirrors by young American designers, shown for the first time in Paris, including pieces by Ocrùm, Another Human, Ben & Aja Blanc, Chris Wolston, Christopher Stuart, and Trueing. 

Exhibition Date and Address:
3 to 12 September, 2020
Triode showroom – 28 rue Jacob 75006 Paris

Excerpt from a short story on the mirror’s design:
“The Orizon mirror is part of wall art and part functional decoration. Inspired by the horizon view of Como Lake in the north of Milan and Lake Michigan in Chicago, two cities that Ocrùm’s Chief Designer Sean Zhang has called home, it is a product of memories cherished and transformed. 

…The ceramic piece is glazed by hand and then baked at different firing temperatures, leading to nuances and unique colors aplenty, and the combination of vitrified ceramic and colored mirror strikes a contemporary look without sacrificing the human touch of traditional craftsmanship…Orizon is fundamentally dual in nature, not only in terms of the glass-ceramic interplay, but also in the philosophical conceptions that underpin it.”

About Sean Zhang, IDSA
Sean Zhang is a multidisciplinary designer based in New York and the Founder and Creative Director of Ocrùm. Earning his Master’s Degree in Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Zhang had previously studied at the Polytechnic University of Milan (Polimi), where he completed his Bachelor’s Degree and where he had unfortunately ignored his inner passion for craftsmanship. At RISD, he took a hands-on approach to ceramics, textiles, wood, and blown glass. It was throughout this period of his life that he came to a new understanding of his own creativity and his approach to design, developing principles and a medium through which he would connect with others. It was also during this time that he developed the idea that would turn into Ocrùm.

Zhang has been awarded Red Dot Design Award’s “Best of Best” designation in 2014 and was a Fast Company Innovation By Design Awards honoree in 2017. Zhang’s work has been featured in major design events such as Milan Design Week, New York Design Week, Dutch Design Week, Paris Design Week, FIAC in Paris, and Art Basel Miami. His work also has been published by the internationally renowned outlets Elle Decor, Forbes, INTERNI magazine, Surface magazine, Core77, Vice Magazine, PAPER Magazine, BAZAAR Magazine, and IDEAT Magazine, among others.

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