Let’s meet in Shanghai | Il ricamo Gu

Let’s meet in Shanghai | Il ricamo Gu

（遇见上海/顾绣主题展）

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the alliance between Milan and Shanghai, Shanghai has brought eight exquisite artworks created using the Gu embroidery technique to the fashion capital.

The exhibition features themes including flowers, fish, fishing scenes, and figures.

Gu embroidery, mentioned in ancient records of Songjiang, is one of the most precious traditional arts of Shanghai. Its distinctive feature lies in the process of embroidery, where the needle acts like a brush and the thread like ink. Gu embroidery is also the only genre named after a family. Since the 38th year of the Jiajing reign (1559 AD), three women from the Gu family in Songjiang (Jin Shimeng, Han Ximeng, and Lan Yu) created, perfected, and spread this style. Over more than 400 years, this heritage has experienced prosperity and decline, but has now become more stable. In the last century, the Songjiang region revived Gu embroidery, and this exquisite skill has gained acclaim not only in Asia but also in Europe and North America, with over 20 inheritors. Gu embroidery, also known as "painted embroidery," has formed an artistic style in Songjiang painting school, with painting and embroidery as aesthetic elements.

On the opening night, Gu embroidery artist Zhang Li and two Jiangnan folk musicians will be present, playing songs with flute and erhu.

At 36, Zhang Li will create an embroidered version of "Peony," a painting from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), now housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The difficulty of her embroidery lies in the overlapping petals, requiring multiple stitching methods. Zhang Li, who has been engaged in embroidery work for 17 years since studying in Songjiang, expressed her honor in showcasing her work in the fashion capital and hopes that the Italian public will be attracted to Chinese traditional culture.

• Location: MA-EC - Palazzo Durini,Milan, Italy

• For:Shanghai United Media Group,Shanghai Daily, People’s Government of Songjiang District, Shanghai, Milano Zhejiang China Friendship Association Onlus