The exhibition Dutch, More or Less: Contemporary Architecture, Design, and Digital Culture is a long-term project aiming to explore Dutch Design and its success from the 1990s onward.
The exhibition starts with iconic examples of the ’90s, proposing that, over the years, boundaries between disciplines have been blurring. The search for solutions to contemporary urgent issues brings together the best work in architecture, design, and digital culture, with these fields working in synergy toward shared solutions.
The exhibition will be on view for the next two years at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, with new work from an emerging designers added every five months.
Dutch Design: 90s Icons
The exhibition opens with a series of projects that help put into perspective how Dutch design has had an enormous impact over the last forty years in the three disciplines that are the museum’s focus. The intelligent, positive, and ironic character of Dutch Design has given it a distinct identity—a model of quality and innovation recognized worldwide.
The exhibition’s starting point features Droog classics such as Chest of Drawers by Tejo Remi (also famous for his famous Milk Bottle), Long Neck Bottle by Hella Jongerius, and Chair with Holes by Gijs Bakker.
In addition to furniture and objects that have had a significant cultural impact, the exhibition also includes architectural projects, such as those by OMA or a prototype of the Erasmus Bridge by UNStudio—and interactive digital projects like Digital City.
From Who They Are to What They Do
The second part of the exhibition explores developments in the three disciplines in contemporary times, showcasing examples of the best projects that have defined Dutch design in recent years.
In a globalized world marked by the urgency of climate change and new technologies, the boundaries between the three disciplines are becoming increasingly blurred. The work of designers and architects seems to merge into a unified commitment to find solutions and envision a better future.
Another issue the exhibition explores is what Dutch design means today, especially in light of projects and creators who engage with important topics such as the movement of people and ideas or the relevance of a strictly defined national identity in a globalized world.
An example of this exploration is found in Contrabande by Sander Wassink. The projects is developed in collaboration with artisans from Sefrou, Morocco, whom the designer invited to modify a classic Dutch chair from the last century, the Diagonal Chair by W.H. Gispen.
The chair undergoes transformations imposed by the artisans, who cover it with materials easily sourced in Morocco, thus raising numerous questions. What is the role of the author? What does local identity mean in an industrialized and globalized world?
What's Next?
To conclude the exhibition’s journey, every five months the museum offers space for new works by an emerging designer who—under the title What’s Next?—explores the future directions Dutch design might take.
The first designer to occupy this space is Amsterdam-based digital artist and illustrator Black Childish (Mickaël Mehala). With a playful style, he combines the vibrant colors, culture, nature, and characters of his native island, Martinique, with a familiar element of Dutch design: the iconic black-and-white striped traffic light. His work will be on display until October 20, 2024, when he will be succeeded by Estelle Bariol / Studio ACTE.
Dutch, More or Less: Contemporary Architecture, Design and Digital Culture
Where: Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam
When: 1 Giugno 2024 – 31 Maggio 2026
Website: nieuweinstituut.nl
