Objects of Desire
Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today
28.09.2019 – 19.01.2020

Vitra Design Museum presents “Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today”, Vitra Design Museum is organizing an exhibition on how the surrealism movement influenced today’s designs.

“Surrealism, 20th. was one of the most influential artistic movements of the century. Many works by surrealists such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Meret Oppenheim or Man Ray were inspired by everyday objects and explored the world of dreams, emotions and unconsciousness embedded in our material culture,” says Mateo Kries, curator of the Vitra Design Museum. “Since the 1930s, Surrealism has had a significant influence on design, from furniture, interiors and fashion to film and graphic design,” he adds.

In the past, surrealism was ignored because the modernist movement was more dominant, until 2007, when an exhibition called “Surreal Things” at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London revealed for the first time the true impact of surrealism on design. While the Surrealism movement was seen as the dream dimension or fantastic visions of painters or sculptors in its early years, over time, its effects on product designs and interior architecture began to be discovered.

The exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum presents surrealism for the first time as a general trend or a timeless philosophy. The selection of a wide range of artists and designers tells the story of surrealism and its relationship with the material world through many different works. In addition to the Mae West Sofa by Salvador Dali, which belongs to the golden age of Surrealism, there are also works by Isamu Noguchi, Carlo Mollino, Frederick Kiesler and Italian decorator Aldo Tuna, who were influenced by the movement.

It exhibits how Surrealism has influenced the designs of the past 100 years and the elements used in furniture and interior designs. The exhibition will include works by Gae Aulenti, Achille Castiglioni, Castiglioni, Giorgio de Chirico, Le Corbusier, Salvador Dalí, Dunne and Raby, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Ray Eames, The Front, Frederick Kiesler, Shiro Kuramata, René Magritte, Carlo Mollino Isamu Noguchi, Meret Oppenheim, Man Ray, Iris van Herpen. The exhibition will be open to visitors until 19.01.2020.