Objects of Desire Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today
Bocca sofa by Studio65 comes back to Vitra Design Museum as the Key Visual for the exhibition «Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today», alongside our Capitello (1971), which is compared with the puzzling, decontextualized object fragments of Salvador Dalí and Giorgio de Chirico.
Exhibition timeline
- 28.09.2019 – 19.01.2020, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein – Germany
- 27.02.2020 – 27.09.2020, CaixaForum, Barcelona, Spain
- 12.11.2020 – 21.03.2021, CaixaForum, Madrid, Spain
- 29.09.2021 – 30.01.2022, CaixaForum, Girona, Spain
- 13.10.2022 – 19.02.2023, The Design Museum, London, United Kingdom
- 07.04.2022 – 28.08.2022, Cidade da Cultura, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Surrealism was one of the most influential art movements of the twentieth century. Everyday objects played a central role in its dreamlike imagery: they were alienated, ironized, or combined to create curious hybrids. This led to the creation of numerous key works of modern art, from Marcel Duchamp’s »Bicycle Wheel« (1913) to Salvador Dalí’s »Lobster Telephone« (1936). In reverse, Surrealism also exerced a decisive influence on the evolution of design.
The exhibition »Objects of Desire« juxtaposes Surrealist artworks and design objects to reveal fascinating parallels and cross-references. Among the high-profile loans from the field of fine art are the paintings »The Red Model« (1947 or 1948) by René Magritte, Salvador Dalí’s »Giant Flying Mocha Cup with an Inexplicable Five Metre Appendage« (1944/45), and »Forest, Birds and Sun« (1927) by Max Ernst as well as such Readymades as Marcel Duchamp’s »Bottle Dryer« (1914) or »Gift« (1921) by Man Ray.
