The restraint of collecting: three pieces, not thirty

A space displaying a small collection. A full wooden wall has only three recessed niches, varying in size, staggered in height, and not on the same horizontal line. Each niche contains only one item—a celadon vase, a stone sculpture, and an ancient jade, each with a hidden spotlight. The wall surface outside the niches is completely blank. Because there are only three items, each can be fully seen and contemplated; if there were thirty, they would cancel each other out and become a pattern. The quality of a collection relies on selection, not quantity. A corner of the image shows a display cabinet filled with collectibles for contrast. Avoid: making the two similar, increasing the number of niches and objects, arranging the niches in a neat row, using glass cabinets to lock up objects.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一個展示少量收藏的空間。一整面木作牆上只挖出三個內凹的壁龕,大小不同、高度錯落、不在同一條水平線上;每一個壁龕裡只放一件東西——一只青瓷瓶、一件石雕、一方古玉,各有一道隱藏的重點光。壁龕以外的牆面完全留白。因為只有三件,每一件都能被完整地看見與思考;如果放三十件,它們會互相抵銷變成一片圖案。收藏的品質靠的是取捨而不是數量。畫面一角以塞滿收藏的展示櫃作對照。避免:讓兩者相似、增加壁龕與物件的數量、把壁龕排成整齊的一列、使用玻璃櫃把物件鎖起來。