Last month saw the opening of the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Schaudepot – a new residential-style hub on Vitra’s German campus. Laid out like a timeline of design history, the permanent collections in the gallery cherish the products and people that have defined the industry to this day. Three times a year however, the gallery's curators take it upon themselves to shine the spotlight on a particular movement, designer or topic for a couple of months. For their first showing they have dived straight into a hugely divisive and consistently charming movement: 'Radical Design'.
The show explores the prominently Italian avant-garde movement and a plethora of cult classics that marked a political, economical and social change in design history. From the infamous pioneers Gaetano Pesce, Alessandro Mendini and Superstudio arrive a recognisable and innovative spread of their experimental concepts, all centrally located in the space.
'Radical Design' has been curated by Heng Zhi, who sought to focus on what the movement meant to society; in addition to its definitively pop-coloured, plastic-covered shapes, such as Mendini’s art and design straddling Lassù and Superstudio’s utopian Supersurface.
With their distinctive appearance, the bold shapes, colours and materials of the works are inimitable and immediately recognisable. ‘Thanks to the new materials and technologies available to the industrial designers,’ Zhi explains, ‘pieces such as the Cactus [by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello, for Gufram] and I Sassi [by Piero Gilardi] made bringing elements of nature into the living space possible.’
'Another point that is important to me is the connection between this historical movement and our society today,' Zhi concludes. Running until November, the five pieces are accompanied by interviews with leading design radicals and the brands who keep the movement alive today.
The show explores a plethora of cult classics that marked a political, economical and social change in design history, from infamous pioneers like Gaetano Pesce, Alessandro Mendini and Superstudio. Pictured: ’UP 5&6, La Mamma, Donna’, by Gaetano Pesce, 1969.
'Radical Design' has been curated by Heng Zhi, who sought to focus on what the movement meant to society; in addition to its definitively pop-coloured, plastic-covered shapes
‘Thanks to the new materials and technologies available to the industrial designers,’ Zhi explains, ‘pieces such as the Cactus [by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello, for Gufram] and I Sassi [by Piero Gilardi] made bringing elements of nature into the living space possible.’ Pictured left: Lassù by Alessandro Mendini, 1974. Courtesy: Studio Mendini. Right: Cactus by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello, 1971
Running until November, the five pieces are accompanied by interviews with leading design radicals and brands who keep the movement alive today. Pictured: Supersurface print by Superstudio.
INFORMATION
’Radical Design’ is on view until 17 November. For more information, visit the Vitra Design Museum’s website (opens in new tab)
ADDRESS
Vitra Design Museum
Charles-Eames-Str. 2
D-79576 Weil am Rhein
-
Feast your eyes: Nadine Ghosn brings cutlery-inspired jewellery to the tableNadine Ghosn’s Youtensils jewellery collection brings a playfulness to the functional forms of the humble fork, spoon and disposable straw
-
Former builders’ yard transformed into a home and studio by Studio MacLean
This new project, a former builders’ yard in the Cotswolds, by Studio MacLean, showcases the design and build skills of Jason and Jenny Rose MacLean
-
Herman Miller presents Alexander Girard posters from his panels designs
You can now buy Alexander Girard posters, inspired by his decorative panels, thanks to a new Herman Miller collection
-
Vitra unveils new London home in the Tramshed, Shoreditch
London Design Festival 2022: after a year-long renovation, Vitra opens the door to its new showroom in the heart of Shoreditch
-
Saul Steinberg: behind the scenes at Triennale Design Museum
Triennale Design Museum and publishing house Electa present ‘Saul Steinberg Milano New York’, a new exhibition (until 13 March 2022) that pays homage to the American artist through 350 works. Join us for a behind-the-scenes peek at it's installation
-
Ten years of Muller Van Severen, at Design Museum Ghent
A new exhibition by Belgian design duo Muller Van Severen (until 6 March 2022) features a retrospective of the studio’s ten years as well as a curation of pieces from the Design Museum Ghent collections
-
Noguchi show celebrates his reverence for Greece
Design show ‘Objects of Common Interest: Hard, Soft, and All Lit Up with Nowhere to Go’ opens in collaboration with Wallpaper* Designers of the Year, Objects of Common Interest, at the Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York (until 13 February 2022)
-
‘Design not for children, but for everyone’: Jewish Museum Berlin’s new play space
Olson Kundig architecture and design practice brings kids’ play space ANOHA Children’s World to life inside a vast former wholesale flower market, at the Jewish Museum Berlin
-
A landscape of playful animals pops up at Design Museum Holon
Child-centric designer Sarit Shani Hay presents an imaginary natural landscape that references Ron Arad's Design Museum Holon architecture and is inhabited by soft, cushioned sea lions, seals and bears
-
Charlotte Perriand’s life and work explored at London’s Design Museum
London’s Design Museum presents ‘Charlotte Perriand: The Modern Life’, an exhibition turned the spotlight on one of the most iconic creators of the 20th century
-
Meet the Design Museum’s all-female Designers in Residence
The multidisciplinary cohort includes Enni-Kukka Tuomala, Abiola Onabule, Cynthia Voza Lusilu and Ioana Man, who developed a series of multidisciplinary projects with the Design Museum, responding to the theme of ‘Care'
