With the Panton chair, the first single unit cantilevered chair made of moulded plastic, he succeeded in creating one of the most famous chair designs of the century. His "Fantasy Landscape" room at the "Visiona 2" exhibition became an icon of the Sixties. Yet Verner Panton (1926 - 1998), a Danish designer who resided in Switzerland, was much more than a great master of Sixties design. Although extravagant forms and the use of intense, bright colours typify his work, it is undeniably grounded on the elegant Functionalism of the Fifties. And in spite of the creativity and joy of experimentation revealed in his oeuvre, he retained a systematic approach to design his entire life. His interest was not limited to the design of single objects, but extended to the development of groups of works and to the design of entire spaces. For this reason, Verner Panton's unusually extensive and divers work, now the subject of a comprehensive retrospective by the Vitra Design Museum, is rightly regarded today as a significant contribution to the development of design in the second half of the 20th century.

In preparation for this exhibition, the Vitra Design Museum draws on its unique collection of Panton objects and the complete Panton archives, which-thanks to many years of personal contact with the designer-will be preserved and receive scholarly evaluation in Weil.

True to the spirit of the designer himself, the show intends to create a highly sensorial experience for its visitors. In addition to the highlights of Panton's work in the areas of furniture, lighting and textile design, his legendary interior design projects-which are generally viewed as a synthesis of his work-will also be presented. Within this context, an historically accurate, partial reconstruction of the "Fantasy Landscape" room from "Visiona 2" can be counted as one of the major attractions of the exhibition