EXEMPLARY 150 Years of the MAK – from Arts and Crafts to Design
11 June–5 October '14
Vienna
The exhibition EXEMPLARY: 150 Years of the MAK – from Arts and Crafts to Design, one of the central projects celebrating the 150th anniversary of the MAK, sparks an inspired and inspiring confrontation between the richly traditional MAK Collection and the contemporary design avant-garde. The changeful history of the MAK is defined by its original purpose of cultivating an exemplary collection of innovative arts and crafts, as well as by its continuing efforts toward achieving a fusion of tradition and modernity. Tying in with EXEMPLARY’s unique orientation, nine internationally acclaimed design mavens participated in an experiment exploring the significance of the MAK Collection as both a source of inspiration and a venue for envisaging everyday life in the future.
By rapidly shifting perspective between key moments in the history of the MAK and trend-setting design themes pointing to the MAK’s future, EXEMPLARY sketches the development of the MAK from an institution for promoting and teaching Austrian applied arts to its present-day incarnation as a leading international center of competence and a showplace for the applied arts, design, architecture, and contemporary art. Exhibition curators Tulga Beyerle, director of the Museum of Applied Arts in Dresden, and Thomas Geisler, curator of the MAK Design Collection, both co-founders of Vienna Design Week, selected exemplary personages who contributed substantially toward shaping the MAK’s 150 year history and recorded them in conversation with leading design visionaries.
EXEMPLARY. 150 Years of the MAK – From Arts and Crafts to Design MAK Exhibition Hall Section Lidewij Edelkoort © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
MAK Exhibition View, 2014 EXEMPLARY. 150 Years of the MAK – From Arts and Crafts to Design MAK Exhibition Hall In the front: Walter Pichler, Chairs Galaxy, 1966 © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
MAK Exhibition View, 2014 EXEMPLARY. 150 Years of the MAK – From Arts and Crafts to Design MAK Exhibition Hall Section Stefan Sagmeister © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
Commonplace Studio chest of drawers Curiosity Cabinet #1, 2008 © Commonplace Studio
Sofa Random Pak Twin, 2006 © Marc Newson. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery/Photo: Fabrice Gousse
Tejo Remy for Droog Chest of drawers, 1991 © Droog/Photo: Gerard van Hees » Download
Maarten Baas Clay Fan, 2006 © Studio Maarten Baas
Konstantin Grcic for Magis Chair One, 2004, © Magis
