5 design shows to see before summer’s end
Last Chance in August
-
How Dust this Feel? Tables by Matilda Beckman (2015) presented in Objects of Desire
Photo © Matilda Backman; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
Engineering Temporality Cabinet by Tuomas Markunpoka (2012)
Photo © Tuomas Markunpoika; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
Funghi Lamp by Kristoffer Sundin & Museum Studio (2016)
Photo © Kristoffer Sundin; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
Crockery Collection by Max Lamb for 1882 Ltd. (2012)
Photo © Max Lamb; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
Pierre Paulin in his studio in the '60s
Photo © Les Archives Paulin; courtesy of Centre Pompidou
-
An interior design by Pierre Paulin, ca. 1961
© Pierre Paulin; © Coll. Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne / Photo: G. Meguerditchian
-
Pierre Paulin's Tripode Cage Chair for Thonet France (1955)
© Coll. Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne / Photo: G. Meguerditchian
-
Pierre Paulin's Ribbon Chair for Artifort (1966)
© Coll. Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne / Photo: Bertrand Prévost
-
Superstudio 50 presented by MAXXI Museo Rome
Photo © Fondazione MAXXI
-
Superstudio's Salvataggi di Centri Storici Italiani, Firenze (1972)
Photo © C. Toraldo di Francia; courtesy of Fondazione MAXXI
-
Superstudio, Sofo's SOFO Sofa (1968)
Photo © C. Toraldo di Francia; courtesy of Fondazione MAXXI
-
Superstudio's Il Monumento Continuo—New York Lithograph (1969)
Photo © Fondazione MAXXI
-
Eero Aarnio in the late 1950s
Photo © Eero Aarnio Archive; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
Eero Aarnio exhibition at Design Museum Helsinki
Photo © Paavo Lehtonen; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
An illustration by Eero Aarnio, ca. 1956
Photo © Eero Aarnio Archive; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
Aarnio's daughters, Rea & Marja-Leena, with his Bubble Chair in the early '70s
Photo © Eero Aarnio Archive; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
Eero Aarnio's daughter, Rea, with his Pony Seat, ca. 1973
Photo © Studio Pietinen; courtesy of Design Museum Helsinki
-
-
Design + Friends Exhibition at Kunstgewerbemuseum Dresden
Photo © Tomáš Souček; courtesy of Kunstgewerbemuseum Dresden
-
Table project by Richard Hutten, Jerszy Seymour + Michael Young for Design + Friends
Photo © Tomáš Souček; courtesy of Kunstgewerbemuseum Dresden
-
Bed projects by Bethan Laura Wood + Philippe Malouin for Design + Friends
Photo © Tomáš Souček; courtesy of Kunstgewerbemuseum Dresden
The month of August brings vacations for much of Europe. The pace of life thankfully slows while we enjoy the sunshine and outdoors. The only downside is that, for a whole month, it's not so easy to get your design fix. If your summer days could use an injection of design edification, here are five exhibitions open in August that’ll keep your design mind active until the cultural season kicks back in in September.
Objects of Desire at Design Museum Helsinki
Closes 21 August, 2016
“The objects on display are meant to arouse… strong emotions—such as desire and attachment,” explains the museum’s Chief Curator Suvi Saloniemi. An exploration of new directions for consumerism, Objects of Desire features over 20 international, rising-star designers working at the intersection of art and design, like Max Lamb, Studio Swine, Hilda Hellström, Matilda Beckman, Chapel Petrassi, Fredrik Paulsen, Man Yau, and more. On display, you’ll find experimental, handmade works by buzz-worthy design talents that propose an alternative to mass-produced, mass-market products .
Pierre Paulin at Centre Pompidou Paris
Closes 22 August, 2016
Centre Pompidou Curator Cloé Pitiot has organized the first major retrospective of French design visionary Pierre Paulin. The exhibition presents over 100 objects—furniture, drawings, models, and other archival material—many of which have never or rarely been shown to the public. Alongside Paulin’s iconic designs, including the Tripode Cage Chair, Mushroom Chair, and Tongue Chair, visitors will enjoy rarities like the Coupe aux Nénuphars, Araignée Ceiling Light, and Bonheur du Jour Desk. This is must-see for lovers of French design.
Superstudio 50 at MAXXI Museo Rome
Closes 4 September, 2016
Beloved for their proactive, vanguard imagery, Superstudio is among the most fascinating design studios of the late 20th century. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the studio’s foundation, Superstudio 50 brings together over 200 works—some never previously displayed—ranging from installations and objects, to graphic designs, photographs, and films covering the entire career and development of these godfathers of radical design. Notably, the exhibition includes the film Continuous Monument, a project from 1969 of which only the storyboard ever existed. Thanks to MAAXI, this icon of speculative design has been brought to life!
Eero Aarnio at Design Museum Helsinki
Closes 25 September, 2016
Presented at the Design Museum Helsinki, Eero Aarnio is the most comprehensive retrospective to date of the legendary, 83-year-old Finnish designer’s work, including furniture, lamps, small objects, one-off pieces, and sketches from the 1950s to the present. All your “Space Age” Aarnio favorites will be there: Ball Chair, Bubble Chair, Pastil Chair, Cognac Chair, Tomato Chair. Aarnio defined what the future looked like in the 1960s. Go get your groovy on.
Friends + Design at Kunstgewerbemuseum Dresden
Closes 1 November, 2016
Curated by Tulga Beyerle and Maria Cristiana Didero, Friends + Design is a celebration of the collaborative and mutually inspiring relationships that often fuel cutting-edge design today. For this project, designers were teamed up and asked to create an installation that visualizes the friendship between them. Tomás Alonso and Mathias Hahn documented a journey together; Bethan Laura Wood and Philippe Malouin designed very special beds for each other; and the trio Richard Hutten, Jerszy Seymour, and Michael Young merged their highly idiosyncratic approaches into a collectively designed table. This joyful project spotlights some of the most in-demand designers on the contemporary scene.