It's hard to believe that the Dutch furniture brand Pastoe turns a momentous 100 this year. With its clean design aesthetic and playful colour theory, the enduring brand continues to stay one step ahead with a bevy of intelligent team-ups with designers like Scholten & Baijings, Shigeru Uchida and Maarten van Severen.
In honour of its big birthday, Pastoe is staging a comprehensive exhibition at the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam that reveals some of the secrets behind its longevity. The show, which has been curated by Anne van der Zwagg and author Gert Staal, not only offers an unprecedented look into Pastoe's design archives, but also presents several interior concepts developed with architect Anne Holtrop, and a series of new product propositions from a stellar cast of designers.
Amongst those are heavy-hitters like Konstantin Grcic whose has explored the value of craftwork in an ever-changing future, Naoto Fukusawa, who has reduced the cupboard to its most basic form, and Claudio Silvestrin, who chose to approach furniture simply as objects. There will also be a commemorative book to boot.
And to top off its anniversary celebrations, Pastoe has launched a new rendition of one of its signature storage cabinets, original designed by Pastoes design director Cees Braakman back in 1952, and now available in three new finishes. This is a significant marker in the company's heritage, as it was storage that really set it apart from the pack in the mid 20th century.
Pieces from the archives are shown alongside vintage advertising material from Pastoe. Courtesy of Pastoe.
'Wire' furniture, by Cees Braakman & Adrian Dekker, 1958-59. Courtesy of Pastoe.
Architect Anna Holtrop worked with Pastoe to develop a series of interiors concepts for the exhibition
The show is divided into three themes: 'Archives', 'Environments', and 'Visions'. Courtesy of Pastoe.
The felt pavilion. Courtesy of Pastoe.
The birch wood CB01 cabinet, by Pastoe's former design director Cees Braakman, 1952
Pastoe's in-house design team gave Braakman's midcentury cabinet a contemporary update to coincide with the company's milestone, naming it the 'Jubilee' cabinet
Shelf system, by Naoto Fukusawa, 2012, commissioned by Pastoe especially for its anniversary
'Qbus', by Cees Brakman, 1965. Courtesy of Pastoe.
'Leather Lounge Chair LL04', by Maarten Van Severen
Archive imagery at the exhibition includes this photograph of the Pastoe factory in Rotsoord, Utrecht, 1952.
Pastoe still manufactures its furniture in the same factory to this day
'Prospettive', by Claudio Silvestrin, 2012. Courtesy of Pastoe.
'Pass Through', by Scheltens & Abbenes, 2012. Courtesy of Pastoe.
'Totem', by Vincent Van Duysen, 2010
'A'dammer', by Aldo van den Nieuwelaar, 1978
ADDRESS
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Westzeedijk 341
3015 AA Rotterdam
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