design exhibitions

San Francisco | 16.02.2013 - 02.06.2013

"Architect Lebbeus Woods (1940-2012) dedicated his career to probing architecture's potential to transform the individual and the collective. His visionary drawings depict places of free thought, sometimes in identifiable locations destroyed by war or natural disaster, but often in future cities. Woods, who sadly passed away last year as planning for this exhibition was under way, had an enormous influence on the field of architecture over the past three decades, and yet the built structures to his name are few. The extensive drawings and models on view present an original perspective on the built environment — one that holds high regard for humanity's ability to resist, respond, and create in adverse conditions."

San Francisco | 13.07.2013

"Holding a unique position among furniture manufacturers for having cultivated the talents of a large number of modernist designers, Herman Miller has produced a significant number of pieces that are now considered icons of industrial design. Good Design: Stories from Herman Miller, interactively explores the behind-the-scenes process in designing for form and function.  Featuring drawings, models, prototypes, photographs, oral histories and original objects, this extraordinary collection unveils the problems and innovative solutions in creating art with a purpose."

Berlin | 08.05.2013 - 05.08.2013

"Written symbols are omnispresent in our culture. They open up the universe of the written word and give us directions in everyday life. But the distinct message inherent in their appearance is often only noticed subliminally. “On-type : texts on typography” conveys the fascination on type design and shows classics from twentieth-century typographic history along with recent examples. The exhibition gathers together theses, manifestos and stocktaking accounts from twentieth-century typography in the German-speaking countries. It also presents type, specimens and insiders’ typography magazines, and discusses the central protagonists and important debates in the history of tyography regarding legibility, use of small letters in German, and the effects of digitalization."

New York | 04.12.2012 - 08.05.2013
"Fashion and Technology explores the impact of emerging technologies on the nature of fashion design and production over the past 250 years. The exhibition focuses on innovations that have influenced the production, materials, aesthetic, and function of fashion. It begins with objects created during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, when innovations in textile manufacturing revolutionized the fashion industry. These innovations included the introduction of the Spinning Jenny, the Jacquard loom, and the sewing machine. The exhibition then continues chronologically to the present day."

Paris | 25.04.2013 - 06.07.2013

"A l’occasion des 20 ans du CRAFT et de la présentation des prototypes et produits finis du programme SILINOV, Le lieu du design présente une sélection de projets à visée industrielle conçus par des designers dans les domaines du verre et de la céramique. La matériothèque materiO y associera des applications étonnantes et innovantes de ces matières minérales. L’exposition sera l’occasion de démontrer l’opportunité des démarches d’accompagnement au design auprès des entreprises."

Saint-Étienne | 26.10.2012 - 06.05.2013

"Le musée d’Art et d’Industrie invite les designers avant-gardistes Marithé+François Girbaud à venir exposer à Saint-Etienne. Pour la première fois en France, l'exposition «L’autre jean» parcourt 40 ans de collaboration basée sur l'alliance de technologies et de créativité.

Le musée proposera à travers cette exposition un regard sur les créations, recherches et innovations industrielles du duo décalé formé par la lyonnaise Marithé Bachellerie et le mazamétain François Girbaud, leader d'importants mouvements de mode à travers le monde depuis les années 70, afin d'en rendre sensible les lignes directrices et identitaires."

Saint Étienne | 14.03.2013 - 31.03.2013

"The eigth edition of the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne places prospective at the centre of its programming, exploring the major issues of society, and revealing through design the innovations which will influence our life tomorrow. The Biennial is founded on the principle of calls for applications, and a confrontation of the points of view of invited curators and exhibitors: it cultivates a non-permanence - and sometimes even a certain impertinence - by offering for each new edition different places to visit, and different curator's standpoints to discover."

Los Angeles | 12.02.2013 - 27.04.2013

"The FIDM Museum is pleased to announce the opening of the 21st Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition! Since its inception in 1992, the exhibition has annually honored the incredible creativity of costume designers in the film industry. This year's exhibit showcases costumes from all five Academy Award nominees for Best Costume: Anna Karenina, Les Misérables, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror, and Snow White and the Huntsman. Also featured are costumes from American Reunion, Argo, The Avengers, Django Unchained, End of Watch, Hitchcock, The Hunger Games, John Carter, The Master, ParaNorman, A Royal Affair, Skyfall, and Sparkle. Selected costumes from The Artist, last year's Academy Award winner for Costume Design, are also on exhibit."

Bilbao | 08.02.2013 - 05.05.2013

"The origins of Basque design go back to the late nineteenth century, coinciding with the industrial boom: during this period it began to form an inseparable part of the production process.
However, it was only in the second half of the twentieth century that Basque design really began to be fully integrated into society, with companies using it to stand out from their competitors and the figure of the design professional becoming a distinct concept within the industrial production system.

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After a history that has not been without its ups and downs, today Basque design is fully consolidated and possesses the maturity and all that is required to face up to a future of constant change. New aspects such as energy and materials savings, recycling, ecology and transport have enabled design to be acknowledged as a strategic factor for the transformation of people, cities and services, and its success lies in its ability to combine the local and the global, tradition and modernity, and its clear desire to improve all that surrounds us."

Reggio Emilia | 26.02.2013 - 21.04.2013

"Conceived specifically for the former factory of Max Mara fashion company, now housing the Collezione Maramotti, the large installation Are We Still Going On? by Kaarina Kaikkonen follows and accompanies the compositional structure of the building, an interesting example of brutalist and organicist architecture from the 1950’s.
The old entrance to the factory − where the artwork was created − is ideally divided into two areas; the horizontal beams in reinforced concrete linking the pillars, not only provide the space with an architectural rhythm, but also become part of the artist’s work.
The installation is composed of two symmetrical structures evoking the skeleton of a large boat. The plain hull is subdivided into two sections developing from the ceiling down to touching the floor, with the same half-circular compositional rhythm created with garments tied and knotted together. As for the colour choice marking the two complementary structures, the garments evoke a symbolic dialogue between the masculine and the feminine: lighter on one side; with colder hues on the other. The whole ensemble exudes a colour combination of harmonious beauty."

New York | 05.03.2013 - 06.04.2013

"Boots: The Height of Fashion examines how boots emerged as a modern fashion phenomenon during the last century and evolved to become a staple of the fashionable woman’s wardrobe. The exhibition features 20 pairs of women’s boots from the museum's permanent collection, including boots originally worn by fashion icons Jane Holzer and Tina Chow. The exhibition takes the view that boots, as objects, are expressive of power, and it explores this concept via three significant sub-themes: sex, rebellion, and status. "

Paris | 31.01.2013 - 17.03.2013

"In three stops – the Maison&Objet salon (Paris, January 2013), the VIA Gallery (Paris, February- March 2013) and the Milan fair (April 2013) –, the exhibition VIA Design 2013 will present to both professionals and the general public our Creation assistance projects for 2013. In 300 m⊃2; of show-space, visitors will discover prototypes financed by VIA and designed by the rising generation of French designers. The show will also feature work by a guest designer from another country. An annual event, the VIA Creation assistance prototypes exhibition is without doubt one of the best showcases for seeing the design of tomorrow now.
Exhibits will include one Carte Blanche award 2012-2013, four Project assistance grants, one Partnership project and one Guest designer from abroad (a new VIA initiative). The prototypes on show at VIA Design 2013 propose many innovations in terms of materials, experimental techniques, research into new industrial processes, and approaches to eco-design and production."

New York | 01.10.2012 - 25.05.2013

"The Edgeless School: Design for Learning presents nineteen 21st century school buildings from across the U.S. that blur distinctions between learning needs, approaches, and environments.

The exhibition and related programs are organized by the AIA New York Chapter in collaboration with the Committee on Architecture for Education and the Center for Architecture Foundation."

Helsinki | 01.02.2013 - 05.05.2013

"Fiber Futures - Japan’s Textile Pioneers is an astounding display of contemporary Japanese textile art.

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Fiber Futures is a cross-disciplinary exhibition with exciting perspectives on the artistic and technical skills of Japanese textile designers. Japanese textile art is often associated with sensitivity, spirituality and virtuoso treatment of materials. In the exhibit, traditional craft materials such as silk, cotton, jute and hemp – are boldly combined with state-of-the-art microfibers and metal filaments in the experimental spirit of international fiber art. With many dimensions, the works on view are abstract sculptures or conceptual modern art rather than textile art in the traditional sense of the term. Employing unanticipated combinations of materials and forms, the artists interpret personal themes such as identity and memory."

London | 20.03.2013 - 07.07.2013

"The Designs of the Year awards, ‘The Oscars of the design world' showcase the most innovative and imaginative designs from around the world, over the past year, spanning seven categories: Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Transport and Product. Category winners and the overall winner will be decided by a jury and announced to the public on 17 April 2013."

Beijing 07.03.2013 - 10.04.2013

"The purpose of the show is to explore the relationship between time and design and it has been organised in partnership with the haute horlogerie watch brand Officine Panerai, which at the opening ceremony will present an installation devoted to the design of its watches devised by Patricia Urquiola.
Compared to the display in Milan, the exhibition in Beijing includes an expanded, updated selection of works which take account of China’s newly emerging and already established design potential. A wide-ranging display of original site-specific works, installations, design objects, works of art and videos by international artists and designers seek to answer questions such as: “How is time measured?”, “How can passing time be shown?” and “How can time be experienced?”. All the works exhibited tackle subjects such as the passage of time, time’s evolution, and decay over time, in ways that are sometimes ironic, sometimes poetic, sometimes meditative and sometimes critical."

Cologne | 14.01.13 - 21.04.13

"The exhibition ‘Isn’t it romantic? Contemporary Design between Poetry and Provocation’ attempts to address our current understanding of romanticism and to explore the new desire for romanticism.

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Romantic tendencies are, for example, expressed in patterns, in materials and processing techniques, but also in concepts that take up and reinterpret poetic, ironic and even disturbing principles of romanticism. The positions shown in the exhibition are represented by internationally acclaimed designers such as Philippe Starck, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Patricia Urquiola, Hella Jongerius, Martino Gamper, Doshi Levien, Tord Boontje and Jaime Hayon and also by conceptual pieces by design studios including Formafantasma, Makkink & Bey, Robert Stadler, Julia Lohmann and Pieke Bergmans."

Barcelona | 20.12.2012 - 17.06.2013

"La Bellesa és una qualitat de les coses que ens atrauen. Hi ha qui pot trobar lleig o desagradable una cosa que sedueix a un altre. Malgrat tot, existeix un cert consens. En una mateixa època o cultura, els judicis solen ser coincidents.

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Ara, l’exposició Històries de Tocador. Cosmètica i bellesa a l'antiguitat ens desvetllarà els principals secrets de bellesa a l’antiguitat, de les tècniques i dels petits gestos quotidians que homes i dones feien servir per millorar la seva imatge personal, per estar bells."

Bilbao | 08.02.2013 - 05.05.2013

"The mapping at the origin of The New Italian Design 2.0 exhibition was not limited to furniture design, but also examined a much broader and open territory, with a goal to intercepting all the new forms – from food to communication – that design had assumed and produced in recent years. Rather than only to the traditional figure of the product designer, also web, graphic, fashion, textiles and jewellery designers as well as copywriters and multimedia designers and creators of recreation spaces and those who work with digital imagery and those who work on sound and narration were all addressed. Essentially 360° designers: not only product designers, but also art directors, consultants, services and communications organizers as well as those who do research and experimentation. In a country that continues to be substantially gerontocratic and not so long ago in an effort to accelerate the affirmation of so-called “youths” and generational exchange, it seemed urgent and necessary to give voice and space and visibility to young Italian creativity (the one that, by now, is organized increasingly through original forms of auto-production, that skates over and dodge traditional forms of business/company mediation) contradicting the common belief that design would have died along with the Novecento."

Barcelona | 05.03.2013 - 13.04.2013

"Els alumnes de 3r i 4t curs del Grau en Enginyeria en Disseny Industrial d’ELISAVA han organitzat l’exposició «Enginyeria i disseny per a l'energia minieòlica», que tindrà lloc del 5 de març al 13 d’abril a La Fàbrica del Sol de Barcelona.

La mostra presenta un recorregut històric per l'energia minieòlica fins a l’actualitat i en planteja perspectives futures. Els alumnes de l’Escola pretenen destacar la importància de la bona enginyeria i el bon disseny dels mini-aerogeneradors com a valor afegit i com a ampliació de les seves possibilitats d’ús i d’implementació.

L’exposició finalitza amb una mostra de quatre prototips de mini-aerogeneradors desenvolupats pels alumnes d'enginyeria en els seus Treballs de Final d’Estudis i a l’assignatura «Sistemes actius» del Mòdul de Sostenibilitat, impartida per la professora Nandi Dorado."

Rotterdam | 09.03.2013 - 20.05.2013

"This coming spring you can enjoy the most exceptional objects made by human hands, from the Middle Ages to the present day, in the museum’s spacious Bodon galleries: from a 16th-century suit of armour to the handmade fashion of Iris van Herpen, from ‘Clay Furniture’ by designer Maarten Baas to refined needlepoint lace and examples of domestic embroidery. Short videos provide insight into the traditional techniques used to produce these objects. As part of the exhibition, craftspeople will continuously be on hand to demonstrate their skills and passion. Be amazed by a whole array of techniques, such as papermaking, weaving, goldsmithing or a demonstration of violin making. Hand Made shows what crafts were, are and can be."

Madrid | 27.02.2013 - 26.05.2013

"La exposición se centra en las creaciones más innovadoras de la moda del último medio siglo presentes en las propias colecciones del Museo.
Durante las décadas centrales del siglo XX se fraguó la eclosión definitiva de la modernidad, tanto en el campo de la creación como en lo social. A partir de entonces comenzó una época de revoluciones y contrarrevoluciones, de arte conceptual y de expresiones antiartísticas, de individualismo a ultranza y de movimientos culturales de todo sesgo, que marcó un antes y un después también en el desarrollo de la moda.

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El objetivo de la muestra es transmitir la idea de la vanguardia creativa como motor de cambio y renovación de criterios estéticos a través de las colecciones de moda contemporánea del Museo."