John Pawson : Plain Space

until January 30 '11

The Design Museum
London

The Design Museum presents a major exhibition on John Pawson. Often labelled a ‘minimalist’, he is known for his rigorous process of design. By reducing and editing he creates architecture and product designs of visual clarity, simplicity and grace.

Plain Space celebrates Pawson’s career from the early 1980s to date and includes a selection of landmark commissions including the Sackler Crossing at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the new Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of Novy Dvur in the Czech Republic and Calvin Klein’s iconic flagship store in New York, as well as current and future projects.

At the heart of the exhibition is a site-specific, full-sized space designed by Pawson offering a direct and immersive experience of his work. This is the first time the Design Museum has realised a 1:1 scale architectural installation inside the museum.

Using a rich range of media the exhibition explores projects from Pawson’s career. Specially commissioned, large-scale photography looks at his architecture in the landscape. Actual architectural elements in stone, bronze, wood and metal taken from a range of buildings including the Baron House in Sweden and Pawson’s own house in London explores his sensitive use of materials. The process of design and construction is also shown through photography, film, sketches, study models, prototypes and interviews relating to a number of projects including a private home in Treviso, Italy currently under construction. Personal items from the Pawson archive are also on display including letters from Karl Lagerfeld and the writer Bruce Chatwin.

The exhibitions book, John Pawson Plain Space, written by Alison Morris, can be purchased from our bookstore.

Martyrs Pavilion by John Pawson

Martyrs Pavilion by John Pawson

John Pawson : Plain Space at The Design Museum