An impression of the Droog Design exhibit at the Milan furniture fair 2008, this years theme was “a touch of green” which looked at the whole green movement from a different perspective. Featuring designs from Pieke Bergmans, Tobias Rockenfeld, FormaFantasma, Gaële Girault, Jens Praet, SMAQ. Of course if you get a chance, go see the exhibit in person!
Perfectly in tune with our times, the young couple, Job Smeets & Nynke Tynagel have been designing an ode to their country roots in stark contrast with the opulent and monumental ‘robber baron’ series designed for the Americans. Now that the farmers of the world will clothe, feed and fuel us, a far-reaching movement will trigger designers to revisit folk and farm mentalities to blend rural and urban style. In an amazing barn-like space in the centre of milan, twenty-four bronze works and six pieces of pallissander furniture will evoke the archetypal artefacts of the low lands including germany, flandres and the netherlands. Shown in an almost calvanistic setting, this rigourous and strong collection is counterbalanced by a folding fresco screen depicting the ideal of life on the farm in bright and naive colours.
Designhuis shows an exhibit about design for the average person. Czech designer Maxim Velcovsky shows us how creative you can get with off the rack flatpack furniture with his customized pieces. Curated by Li Edelkoort
Popshop, remixing icons of mass culture is a group exhibition staged by MU, in which artists are rehauling pop stars, fans, and world hits. This time, it’s not about artists switching over to making clips, or to designing an LP sleeve, but clips being sucked back into the realm of contemporary art. www.mu.nl
