Design for life
For design lovers, here’s six unmissable exhibitions in 2018.
JEWELLERY by artists, reminders of the Soviet era, and a history of the nightclub – just some of the exhibitions that design lovers won’t want to miss in 2018.
From Calder To Koons, Jewellery By Artists, Diane Venet’s Perfect Collection, March 7 to July 8, at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris Diane Venet has collected jewellery by artists for over 30 years, and will exhibit her 230-piece collection at this show in Paris, alongside other jewellery loaned by galleries, collectors and the families of artists. Organised in chronological order and by theme, jewellery created by 150 artists, including Niki de Saint Phalle, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, will be on display.
Night Fever. Designing Club Culture 1960-Today, March 17 to Sept 9, at the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
Nightclubs and discos are hotbeds of contemporary culture, and they were there at the birth of avant garde movements that questioned the established codes of social life. These extraordinary places merge design, graphics and art with sound, light, fashion and special effects. The Vitra Design Museum’s exhibition examines the role of design in the history of the nightclub. It features films, vintage photos, posters, flyers, fashion, music and light installations to take visitors on a journey to a world of glamor and subculture.
Soviet Design. Red Wealth, Jan 24 to May 21, at the Brussels Design Museum, Belgium
This exhibition takes us back in time, starting from post-war USSR until the Olympic Games of 1980, through a collection of daily objects and graphics, which speak volumes about life in the Soviet Union at that time. Each section represents a different aspect of Soviet life and culture – childhood and leisure, sports and public events, furniture and household products, even precision engineering and industrial production.
Peter Ghyczy: 50 Years Of Functionalism, February 7 to March 11, at the Brussels Design Museum
The Brussels Design Museum – known as the ADAM – is also staging the very first exhibition dedicated to the designer Peter Ghyczy. He is probably best known for his Garden Egg Chair, designed in 1968.
The Future Starts Here, from May 12, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The V and A has put together 100 objects that demonstrate the power of design in shaping the world of tomorrow.
Kwab. Dutch Design in the Age of Rembrandt from June 29 to Sept 26, at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
In the 17th century, fantasy sea creatures, scary monsters and strange body shapes reminiscent of molten candle wax decorated jugs, furniture, and smart interiors. This trend was known as the auricular style. It was a Dutch decorative arts movement which won over the rest of Europe, particularly Germany and France, and can even be seen in some of Rembrandt’s works. This exhibition at the Rijksmuseum features the auricular style in over 100 works of art from the Golden Age. – AFP Relaxnews