Vitra Schaudepot

Since their inception in the early 20th century, comics and cartoons have become an inherent part of global visual culture. The exhibition »Living in a Box« demonstrates the close relationship of comics and cartoons to design. Design items or interiors depicted in these genres can reflect the personalities of certain characters: they may be subject to acerbic irony or used to create futuristic visions, often combined with references to political and social issues. The exhibition will present both well-known and less familiar comics that made design history, and objects that have been featured in or influenced by comics and cartoons.

Opening: 23 May 2019, 6:30 pm

Image:
Diabolik-Comic »Scommessa fatale«, 1974,
Credit: Diabolik, © Astorina srl

Vitra Design Museum Gallery

British designer and artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg explores our relationship with nature and technology through what we design. For the past decade, she has researched possibilities for the design of living matter, also referred to as »synthetic biology«. For projects like »Designing for the Sixth Extinction« (2013), she transcended the traditional boundaries of the design discipline, actively pursuing collaborations with scientists, engineers, artists, historians, and social scientists. Her exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum Gallery gives insight into how humans seek to shift, bend, and change natural matter, addressing synergies between design and biotechnologies that might shape our future ways of living.

Opening: 19 July 2019, 6 pm

Image:
Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, »Mobile Bioremediation Unit«, 2013
© Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg

Vitra Design Museum

Surrealism was one of the most influential art movements of the twentieth century. Many works of Surrealists like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Meret Oppenheim, and Man Ray were inspired by everyday objects and explored the world of dreams, emotions, and the unconscious embedded in our material culture. Since the 1930s, Surrealism has had a strong impact on design, from furniture, interiors, and fashion to film and graphic design. In fall 2019 the Vitra Design Museum will devote the first major exhibition to the fascinating creative dialogue between Surrealism and design that continues to this day. »Objects of Desire« will juxtapose surrealist art works with design icons by some of the most prominent artists and designers of the past one hundred years to reveal fascinating parallels and cross-pollination. With works by Gae Aulenti, Björk, Claude Cahun, Achille Castiglioni, Giorgio de Chirico, Le Corbusier, Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Ray Eames, Front Design, Frederick Kiesler, Shiro Kuramata, René Magritte, Carlo Mollino, Isamu Noguchi, Meret Oppenheim, Man Ray, Jerszy Seymour, and many others.

Opening: 27 September 2019, 6 pm

Image:
Studio65, Sofa »Marilyn« (Bocca), 1970, (Gufram)
© Vitra Design Museum, photo: Jürgen HANS, objektfotograf.ch