Vitra presents the first comprehensive overview of the Bauhaus, now on show in Weil am Rhein as part of their Design Museum’s ongoing programme of exhibitions. Including objects and furniture as well as art, film and photography, many of the pieces on display have never been seen before, presenting a new perspective on the influential design school and its productions.
Founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius in Weimar, the Bauhaus set the stage for design and almost a century later its principles are still observed and celebrated. Gropius and his colleagues gave students a creative and artisanal basis alongside notions of ergonomics, psychology and technology, ideas to be used as tools to shape society.
The exhibition develops like a journey, starting with an exploration of the historical and social context of the Bauhaus’ inception, while also showcasing some of the lauded furniture pieces and objects designed by its members. The show then shifts into a wider concept explored at the Bauhaus, featuring the school’s teachings and projects related to designing spaces; this section includes the notion of minimum dwellings, colour theories proposed by the likes of Josef Albers and spatial models developed within the institute. In the final section, the exhibition explores the Bauhaus’ communication material, from its avant garde typographical experiments to films produced at the school and photographs from its early days.
As well as an historical overview featuring archive material, the exhibition also offers a modern interpretation of the school's principles, through the works of contemporary creatives such as Enzo Mari, Konstantin Grcic, Hella Jongerius and Alberto Meda. To offer an up-to-date perspective on the Bauhaus and its legacy, the museum presents a series of works that demonstrate how its ambitious teachings have now become the norm for design professionals, contemporary pieces dotted throughout the exhibition to compare and contrast influences and tributes.
With an encyclopaedic route through the Bauhaus' legendary history, the exhibition is an essential tool to understand the school and its power over design, and is a fitting testimony to a still-strengthening legacy.
An archive image showing an advertising workshop in Dessau, 1926
The show shifts into wider concepts explored at the Bauhaus, highlighting the school’s teachings and projects related to designing spaces: this section includes examples of colour theories proposed by, amongst others, Johannes Itten, whose colourwheel in seven shades and 12 tones is pictured here
Upon opening the school, Walter Gropius penned a manifesto and programme defining the scope of the ’Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar’
The exhibition features a wealth of archive images, such as this one from 1928 by Marianne Brandt, depicting a student on one of the Dessau building’s iconic terraces
Better known as the ’Wassily’ chair (after painter Kandinsky), Marcel Breuer’s ’B3’ lounge chair is one of the most recognisable pieces of furniture to come out of the Bauhaus
The archive furniture on display at the exhibition includes Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s ’MR20’ (left) and Erich Dieckmann’s ’Typenstuhl’ (right), both created at the Bauhaus in 1927
Modern interpretations of Bauhaus design principles feature Enzo Mari’s ’Proposta per un’autoprogettazione’ chair (left) and Alessandro Mendini’s tribute to the ’Wassily’ chair (right)
More contemporary designs are also on show, such as Dokter and Misses’ ’Heavy Metal’ cup and saucer from 2008
Konstantin Grcic’s ’Pipe’ table and chair combo from 2009 nods to the Bauhaus style of Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe
A photograph from a Thonet instruction manual published in 1935
A detail of Studio Minale Maeda’s ’Keystones’ table, combining a wooden frame with 3D-printed joints
The exhibition includes displays of minimum dwelling and spatial notions developed within the school, such as Hannes Meyer’s Co-op room from 1926
Next to it, there is a 2014 interpretation by AYRBRB
Construction blocks, by Alma Siedhoff-Buscher
Mechanical Ballet, by Kurt Schmidt, produced in 1923 with FW Bagler and G Teltscher
Stars and Stripes, a digital print by MIRO, offering a 21st century interpretation of Bauhaus’ themes concerning colour and shape
Pictured left: desk lamp by Wilhelm Wagenfeld and Carl Jakob Jucker from 1923. Right: ’ti 1a’ chair by Marcel Breuer, 1922
The exhibition plays on the juxtaposition of quintessential Bauhaus experiments and their influence on today’s creatives, as evinced in Josef Albers’ colour works (left), and Mike Meiré’s Bauhaus tribute from 2008 (right)
Archive photography completes the exhibition, offering visitors a glimpse of Bauhaus life and its players, as well as its iconic Dessau building. Pictured left: a double exposure by an unknown photographer of artist and weaver Otti Berger and the school’s facade, from 1931. Right: Hiroshi Sugimoto’s image of one of the stairways inside the building, from 2013
Pictured left: a design proposal for a multimedia exhibition by Herbert Bayer, 1924. Right: Max Bill’s Der Eilbote, a watercolour work from 1928
INFORMATION
’The Bauhaus #itsalldesign’ is on view until 28 Feburary 2016
ADDRESS
Vitra Design Museum
Charles-Eames-Str. 2
D-79576, Weil am Rhein
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