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Exhibition
This year, Design Flanders, in a cooperation with Flanders Investment and Trade, will be very much present in the Zona Tortona. “Je suis dada”, an exhibiton on surrealism and design, travelled to Turino, Vienna, Prague and Brussel. After Milano, it will travel to Oslo and Madrid
It is no coincidence that Belgium is the country of surrealism; of René Magritte (1898-1967), of visual paradoxes such as “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” in the painting La Trahison des Images (1928), of the mussel pots of Marcel Broodthaers (1924-1976), the female nudes of Paul Delvaux (1897-1994), the collages and controversial film L’imitation du Cinéma (1959) by Marcel Mariën (1920-1993), the poetry of Paul van Ostaijen (1896-1928)... It is also no coincidence that singer Jacques Brel (1929-1978) described Belgium as no more than a “state of mind. A dream, a fiction, a product of surrealism”...
Although surrealism has not been around long as an artistic movement, its influence is here to stay and it continues to live on in all areas of art. Whereas James Ensor (1860-1949), with his irony and unbridled imagery, can certainly be considered as a pioneer of surrealism, Belgium still produces artists in the surrealist tradition.
Belgians are raised on a certain form of stratification, of disorientation. This applies equally to design. This should not surprise, given that surrealist artists such as Dali and Magritte readily incorporate everyday objects in their compositions.
This is why Design Flanders decided to centre a travelling exhibition around the surrealist theme. The launch took place in November in Turin during the Torino World Design Capital event, where it attracted a great deal of interest.
Je suis dada grew into something larger, in which not only the objects but also the graphic design (by Barlock), the scenography (by Pieter Boons and Annemie Lathouwers), the visuals and the music became part of the surrealist story the exhibition brings to you.
Concept: Design Vlaanderen
Scenography: Pieter Boons & Annemie Lathouwers architects
Art intervention: concept & realisation video Pieter Boons 2008 (© VRT & Charly Herscovici)
Sound intervention: Philip Bosmans & Odette Groeneveld by sineconcept
Grafische vormgeving catalogus: www.barlock.be
Grafische vormgeving affiche: Lodewijk Joye.
The designers
Atelier Blink | Bram Boo | Siegfried De Buck | Hilde De Decker | Nora De Rudder | Jos Devriendt | Nedda El-Asmar | Anita Evenepoel | Silke Fleischer | Davy Grosemans | Linde Hermans | Christiane Hoegner | Hoetdesign | Cynthia Jacobs | Sofie Lachaert & Luc D’hanis | Bart Lens | Xavier Lust | Hugo Meert | Luc Ramael | Stefan Schöning | Lucile Soufflet | Diane Steverlynck | Francine Van Der Biest | Roos Van De Velde | Frans Van Praet | Danny Venlet | Daniel Weinberger | Weyers & Borms | Dirk Wynants
The companies
Dark | Desalto | Droog | Limited Editions | Eden Design | Eternum | Gense | Mdf Italia | Prandina | Robbe & Berking | Rode Schoentjes | Viteo
A small catalogue is made for the exhibition. It is distributed for free during the exhibition.
Zona Tortona, Spazio Herno, Via Savona 19a, Milano
Open from 11 AM till 9 PM
Press preview: Tuesday 13 April, 3 PM till 6 PM.
Press cocktail (invitations only): Thursday 15 April. The press cocktail starts at 7 PM.
Je suis dada | Milan – Spazio Herno, Zona Tortona
Je suis dada shows objects with hidden meanings, pregnant with emotion, poetry, irony and relativism. They get us dreaming, fantasising and smiling again, only nowadays there is nothing wrong in setting out to shock. Imagination reigns again. Functionality and beauty are no longer specified as the only conditions, or even as conditions in themselves. These are generally limited-edition objects produced in small production runs, but industry too can fall for their sexy appeal.This year, Design Flanders, in a cooperation with Flanders Investment and Trade, will be very much present in the Zona Tortona. “Je suis dada”, an exhibiton on surrealism and design, travelled to Turino, Vienna, Prague and Brussel. After Milano, it will travel to Oslo and Madrid
It is no coincidence that Belgium is the country of surrealism; of René Magritte (1898-1967), of visual paradoxes such as “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” in the painting La Trahison des Images (1928), of the mussel pots of Marcel Broodthaers (1924-1976), the female nudes of Paul Delvaux (1897-1994), the collages and controversial film L’imitation du Cinéma (1959) by Marcel Mariën (1920-1993), the poetry of Paul van Ostaijen (1896-1928)... It is also no coincidence that singer Jacques Brel (1929-1978) described Belgium as no more than a “state of mind. A dream, a fiction, a product of surrealism”...
Although surrealism has not been around long as an artistic movement, its influence is here to stay and it continues to live on in all areas of art. Whereas James Ensor (1860-1949), with his irony and unbridled imagery, can certainly be considered as a pioneer of surrealism, Belgium still produces artists in the surrealist tradition.
Belgians are raised on a certain form of stratification, of disorientation. This applies equally to design. This should not surprise, given that surrealist artists such as Dali and Magritte readily incorporate everyday objects in their compositions.
This is why Design Flanders decided to centre a travelling exhibition around the surrealist theme. The launch took place in November in Turin during the Torino World Design Capital event, where it attracted a great deal of interest.
Je suis dada grew into something larger, in which not only the objects but also the graphic design (by Barlock), the scenography (by Pieter Boons and Annemie Lathouwers), the visuals and the music became part of the surrealist story the exhibition brings to you.
Concept: Design Vlaanderen
Scenography: Pieter Boons & Annemie Lathouwers architects
Art intervention: concept & realisation video Pieter Boons 2008 (© VRT & Charly Herscovici)
Sound intervention: Philip Bosmans & Odette Groeneveld by sineconcept
Grafische vormgeving catalogus: www.barlock.be
Grafische vormgeving affiche: Lodewijk Joye.
The designers
Atelier Blink | Bram Boo | Siegfried De Buck | Hilde De Decker | Nora De Rudder | Jos Devriendt | Nedda El-Asmar | Anita Evenepoel | Silke Fleischer | Davy Grosemans | Linde Hermans | Christiane Hoegner | Hoetdesign | Cynthia Jacobs | Sofie Lachaert & Luc D’hanis | Bart Lens | Xavier Lust | Hugo Meert | Luc Ramael | Stefan Schöning | Lucile Soufflet | Diane Steverlynck | Francine Van Der Biest | Roos Van De Velde | Frans Van Praet | Danny Venlet | Daniel Weinberger | Weyers & Borms | Dirk Wynants
The companies
Dark | Desalto | Droog | Limited Editions | Eden Design | Eternum | Gense | Mdf Italia | Prandina | Robbe & Berking | Rode Schoentjes | Viteo
A small catalogue is made for the exhibition. It is distributed for free during the exhibition.
Zona Tortona, Spazio Herno, Via Savona 19a, Milano
Open from 11 AM till 9 PM
Press preview: Tuesday 13 April, 3 PM till 6 PM.
Press cocktail (invitations only): Thursday 15 April. The press cocktail starts at 7 PM.