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Each year at Chinese New Year, millions of journeys trace the same arc: a return from the city to the hometown, from distance to proximity, from the global to the intimate. For Molteni&C, this annual migration becomes a reflection on the home as the true site of design – a lived interior in which objects acquire meaning through ritual, memory and use.
For this coming year’s celebration, which begins on 17 February and marks the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse, Molteni&C invited Chinese illustrator Yulong Lli to depict three moments of reunion through the lens of Gio Ponti’s domestic modernism. The resultant three illustrations, Back Home, Reunion, and Gift Moment, narrate the journey of traveling to reunite with family, before the exchange of carefully chosen gifts.
Across these illustrations, Lli brings Ponti’s legacy into dialogue with the symbolic language of the festival. Doorways become thresholds between the city and domestic space; interiors merge Chinese New Year motifs with iconic Molteni&C pieces; and moments of gathering unfold around the quiet presence of the Ponti Horse – a design that forms the basis of Ponti's Cavallo sculpture, included in the new Gio Ponti Object collection. The following conversation explores how illustration, design history and tradition converge in Lli’s vision.
Molteni&C has always positioned the home as a site of lived modernity rather than decoration – a philosophy central to Gio Ponti’s thinking. In this Chinese New Year project, the theme of “coming home” recurs: a return from the city, a reunion, a ritual of belonging. When you began the work, how did the notion of domestic space shape the way you conceived the illustrations?
Receiving this commission on the theme of “coming home” feels particularly meaningful this year. I moved from Shanghai to London over the summer, so the journey back for Chinese New Year has become farther and filled with even more anticipation. Living abroad amid uncertainty compelled me to reconsider what home means to me, and how I might express its presence in my work.
For me, home is felt through familiar people and everyday objects – memories of family reunions, a comfortable sofa, or a small gift brought back from London. These became the emotional anchors I wanted to portray in the series.
The Ponti Horse is a modernist artefact rooted in Italian design history, while the zodiac Horse evokes centuries of Chinese symbolism and myth. By bringing them together, you create a dialogue across cultures, histories and traditions. How did you approach this symbolic encounter when developing your concept?
In the [Molteni&C] archives, I noticed a shelf in Ponti’s home filled with handmade artefacts. It made me think he would have enjoyed Chinese New Year decorations and zodiac culture as well. When creating this series, I imagined the Ponti Horse participating in the celebrations, appearing quietly like the Horse in traditional Chinese stories.
Reunion by Yulong Lli in celebration of 2026 Lunar Year
Yulong Lli Lunar Year inspiration
In Back Home, the doorway becomes a threshold between city and hometown. How did that idea of crossing a threshold inform your depiction of the moment of arrival?
Before starting the project, I had the chance to visit Molteni&C’s London store. When conceptualising the series, I imagined this store as the symbolic starting point of the homeward journey – a place filled with longing, intention, and blessings.
This personal reference also connects to a shared memory many people have: choosing gifts for loved ones, preparing to travel, and taking the first steps toward home. That emotional transition guided this scene.
Your Reunion illustration brings together Chinese New Year motifs, such as plum blossoms, lanterns, and ancestral symbols alongside Ponti’s furniture and design pieces. How did you compose a domestic scene that honours both of these traditions?
As I reviewed catalogues and archives, I realised that Ponti cared deeply about the dialogue between tradition and modernity. This collaboration extends that spirit – using contemporary visual language to express the beauty of handcrafted tradition.
In this scene, I incorporated symbolic elements such as birds with peonies and plum blossoms framing a doorway – imagery associated with prosperity and happiness. My furniture choices were influenced by Chinese New Year wordplay. The sofa, for instance, has a silhouette reminiscent of a gold ingot, even if that wasn’t the original design intent. It became a playful vessel for traditional blessings.
Back Home by Yulong Lli, in celebration of 2026 Lunar Year
Reunion by Yulong Lli, in celebration of 2026 Lunar Year
Modern Italian furniture has often been described as a form of social architecture, and in Gift Moment people gather around objects such as chairs, a table, and the Ponti Horse. Did you think of these objects as hosts of memory or shared time?
When I first visited the London store, I was especially drawn to Ponti’s vase and side table, and I happened to be drinking an excellent espresso beside them. That sensory moment naturally entered the artwork. I love the idea of “social furniture”. Sofas, coffee tables, and side tables structure how we gather; they set the emotional tone of reunion.
Commensality is a recurring theme in Molteni&C’s identity: the house as a space of gathering, the table as a site of collective memory. Chinese New Year carries similar traditions of reunion and shared meals. How did you bring these two frameworks together?
Rituals and sharing are central to Chinese culture – preparing gifts, gathering for the New Year’s Eve dinner, exchanging blessings. This is why I resonate deeply with the idea of commensality; I also love the Italian culture of shared meals.
To connect the two, I used the act of gifting as a narrative thread: carrying gift boxes on the journey home, then opening them to reveal the Ponti Horse and fireworks. This sequence reflects the festive spirit of sharing, blessing, and togetherness.
Yulong Lli Lunar Year illustrations with Gio Ponti 7 Tubi vase on Gio Ponti D.555.1 small table
Yulong Lli
As an artist who bridges cultures and contexts, what does returning home mean to you personally? Do you have a favourite memory of New Year celebrations that informed the work?
This year is especially meaningful, as it is my first time travelling across countries to reunite with my family. I genuinely enjoy the process of going home – it is filled with anticipation and warmth.
As a child, my favourite part of the celebration was always the fireworks. After the New Year’s Eve dinner, we would go outside to light them. Since moving to big cities, that ritual has become less common, and I miss it dearly. That’s why I placed fireworks prominently in the final scene – it is a memory I hold close.
Molteni&C conceives of home as an emotional space built through objects and gestures. What is the core emotion or moment you hoped to evoke through your work – the moment the door opens, the embrace happens, and when people come together?
We often use the phrase “New Year atmosphere” to describe the spirit of the festival. For this series, I focused on how that atmosphere intensifies, becoming warmer, brighter, more celebratory.
Yulong Lli with his illustrations celebrating 2026 Lunar Year at Molteni&C Shanghai Flagship Store
I used colour to express this progression, starting with soft pinks and deepening gradually into rich reds. The increasing saturation mirrors the rising excitement: a journey of expectation that culminates in reunion, fireworks, and the emotional climax of the story.
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