Right:
Mathias Bengtsson
03 Slice Lounge Chair,
1999, aluminum {h. 29V2
in, w. 35 Vg in,
d.
26V4
in
M
a d e i n
E u r o p e
S T O R Y BY
Christopher Lloyd
Indianapolis M useum o f A rt
European Design Since 1985:
Shaping the N ew Century
M arch 8 - June 21,2009
Indianapolis, Indiana
imamuseum.org
Right:
Radi Designers
Whippet Bench, 1998,
polyurethane paper
(h. 23V8 in, w. 55 Va in,
d. 28% in).
“ European Design Since 1985: Shaping the
N ew C entury,” organized by the Indianap-
olis M useum o f A rt in association w ith the
D enver A rt M useum , is the rare exhibition
w ith the potential to fascinate both serious
art experts and casual museumgoers. W ith
more than 250 pieces covering a broad range
o f furniture, sculpture, m etalw ork and
mass-produced items, the show is one o f the
first major retrospectives o f contemporary
W estern European industrial and decorative
design. But w ith its eclectic, often whim si-
cal juxtaposition o f fine art objects w ith
everyday products, it’s bound to draw a
smile from even unsophisticated visitors.
M ore than five years o f w ork on the
project by R . Craig M iller, the
i m a ’s
curator
o f design arts, culminated with a two-day
sym posium M arch 6 - 7 that drew some o f
the top names in contem porary European
design. Speakers included design company
heads A lberto Alessi o f the Italian Alessi
SpA and R o lf Fehlbaum o f Swiss V itra, as
w ell as notable designers like Eero Koivisto
o f Sw eden and France’s M atali Crasset.
K eynote speaker M ichele D e Lucchi o f Ita-
ly, founder o f Produzione Privata, set the
tone, urging that w e recognize the role o f
design in everyday life. “ M ore and more,
the house where w e live is the theater o f our
ow n personality,” he said.
That notion plays out in the exhibition’s
serpentine layout, which takes viewers past
objects they might w ell have in their own
homes-consumer items produced on a mass
scale that they might not otherwise regard
as art as w ell as nonfunctional w orks w ith
little utility beyond aesthetics.
T h e journey hurls the view er between
modernist and postm odernist traditions,
w hich occasionally results in jarring juxta-
positions. For example, it’s a breathtaking
transition to move from the Expressive
Design section, w ith its highly stylized fur-
niture that would be impossible to sit on,
to the spare functionalism o f G eom etric
M inim al D esign, typified by dinnerware
settings and sleek chairs.
In all, the exhibition is divided into eight
sections, with many pieces gathered from
unexpected sources, but also many examples
by name designers such as D e Lucchi,
Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Jasper Morrison
and M arc N ewson. T he Decorative Design
section picks up the waning thread o f design
groups Alchym ia and M em phis-traditional
luxury objects approached as art. O ne can
032 american craft aug/sep09
