Gerrit Rietveld: The Revolution of Space
To revolutionise space, one must spend his or her life testing, experimenting and pushing the boundaries of innovation. Just like Gerrit Rietveld. One of the 20th century’s most important designers, Rietveld’s work is currently being showcased at Vitra Design Museum, Germany.
Comprising around 320 objects – including furniture, models, paintings, photographs, films and approximately 100 original drawings and plans – it offers a comprehensive retrospective of Rietveld’s varied body of work.
Viewed in the light of this new retrospective, many facets of Rietveld’s work prove to be astonishingly relevant today. His urban plans appear to have much in common with current developments, since Rietveld’s ideas were based on social aspects and theories. With a series of furniture for self-assembly in the 1930s and ’40s, Rietveld also anticipated today’s do-it-yourself trend and the concept of ‘open design’.
In addition, the exhibition incorporates comparative works by contemporaries such as Theo van Doesburg, Bart van der Leck, Le Corbusier and Marcel Breuer, thus shedding light on the mutual exchange of ideas and Rietveld’s place in the context of other modernist currents and trends.
‘Gerrit Rietveld – The Revolution of Space’ is currently showing at Vitra Design Museum, Germany, and runs until Sunday 16 September 2012.
