Exhibition — Feb 18 until May 15, 2005

On view will be products like furniture, services, lamps, interiortextile, linoleum, glass, two kitchens and an interior (model).

This year the annual exhibition for municipal art acquisitions focuses on the discipline of ‘design’. The national call for submissions specifically asked for design for the interior, from the period 2000-2004. From around 500 entries, the jury selected 94 designs by 51 designers or studios. Their choices vary from almost autonomous objects to industrially produced appliances. The final selection of objects to be included in the collection will be made during the exhibition in Stedelijk Museum CS.

The title of the exhibition, ‘Nest’, is derived from the ‘Vogelkasthuis’ (Nesting box) by Jurgen Bey, a sort of indoor cabin in which children can play or nap, and the seating object ‘Tak’ (Branch) by Frank Tjepkema and Janneke Hooymans, which looks like a nest - and, of course, because the designs are all for the interior. Among them are appliances like the vacuum cleaner by npk industrial design (‘Art by Miele’), a mobile kitchen by Maxime Ansiau, and the steel ‘City System’ furniture programme by Marcel Wanders, for the ‘moooi’ trademark. In addition to these and other renowned designers like Marijke van der Wijst, Bruno Ninaber van Eyben, Ineke Hans and Claudy Jongstra, the new generation is also liberally represented in ‘Nest’, with Maarten Baas, Bertjan Pot, Wouter Nieuwendijk, Wieki Somers and others.

Several of the items of furniture being exhibited are receiving their premiere in ‘Nest’. Studio Job (Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel) is presenting the Rock Furniture series in a bronze finish for the first time (it was previously seen in Milan in April in an aluminium version). Polishing the shiny seat and backrest and patinating the spiky surface of the rest of the piece (which in the aluminium version were white and aluminium coloured, respectively) emphasises the differences in colour and texture. Further, they produced a model for the ‘Flemish Bench’, a bench with wings on the backrest that can open and close like an altarpiece. It is to be ‘upholstered’ in insect tiles adorned with the same pattern that they previously used on the fabrics for the collection of fashion designers Viktor + Rolf.

There are also examples of site-specific design, including the interior of the De Lairesse pharmacy, as designed by Concrete. Inside Outside, Petra Blaisse’s firm, is presenting the carpet design for the library in Seattle (OMA/Rem Koolhaas), which is characterised by a printed pattern of plants in bright colours, along with a curtain design derived from it.

Light & ceramics
In addition to furniture ‘Nest’ includes a lot of lighting, a field that has seen interesting developments in recent years in both design and technology. There are minimalist examples such as the ‘Claim’ series by Wouter van Nieuwendijk, in which the lamps consist of nothing more than a steel frame and an incandescent bulb, and the revolutionary ‘Sugarcube’ LED element that Jacob de Baan developed in collaboration with Frank de Ruwe. More poetic designs are also represented, such as the ‘Watervlooien Kroonluchter’ (Water Flea Chandelier) that jewellery designer Felieke van der Leest and Martin Niemeyer produced for the Child Protection Council in Alkmaar.

Another striking feature of the selection is the use of ceramic in about 20% of the projects exhibited. The use of this material has been flourishing since the European Ceramic Work Centre in Den Bosch emphatically opened itself up for experiments by designers. Work by Niels van Eijk, Wieki Somers, Bertjan Pot, Margit Seland, Maria Blaisse and Hella Jongerius was developed there. On the other hand, some projects in ‘Nest’ distinguish themselves by their advanced use of materials. The ‘Airborne Snotty Vase’ by Marcel Wanders is made from polyamide with the aid of a digital prototyping technique, and the ‘Soft Stove’ heater by Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe is made of ‘ceramic textile’.

From ‘Nest’ one can conclude that at the moment The Netherlands is not dominated by any one leading style or movement, but that good design is being produced in all kinds of fields and different spheres, creating a richly variegated picture.

The selection
The proposals for acquisition were chosen by a jury comprised of Ward Schrijver, exhibition and interior architect, Hester Wolters, editor-in-chief of Vormberichten (magazine of the BNO, Association of Dutch Designers), Aaron Betsky, director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute, and Sophie Krier, designer and instructor at the Designlab at the Rietveld Academy. The jury was chaired by Ingeborg de Roode, curator of industrial design at the Stedelijk Museum.

In consultation with the curator of industrial design, the Director of the Stedelijk Museum will make his choice from the proposals. The final selection will be announced during the exhibition.
The exhibition is designed by Gilian Schrofer. The accompanying catalogue, which will directly represent the arrangement of the exhibition, is designed by Gilian Schrofer and Gesina Roters.

Designers and studios represented in ‘Nest’ are:
Ed Annink; Maxime Ansiau; Jacob de Baan; Jacob de Baan en Frank de Ruwe; Jacob de Baan, Margit Seland en Marjet Wessels Boer; Maarten Baas; Jurgen Bey; Maria Blaisse; Petra Blaisse; Krijn Christiaansen en Cathelijne Montens; Concrete Architectural Associates; Hélène Dashorst en Eugène van Veldhoven; Hil Driessen; Dumoffice (Wiebe Boonstra, Martijn Hoogendijk, Marc van Nederpelt); Piet Hein Eek; Niels van Eijk; Studio Niels van Eijk & Miriam van der Lubbe; Khodi Feiz; Alex Gabriel & Willeke Evenhuis; Ineke Hans; Simon Heijdens; Richard Hutten; Peter van der Jagt en Frank Tjepkema; Peter van der Jagt, Erik-Jan Kwakkel en Arnout Visser; Hella Jongerius/ JongeriusLab; Claudy Jongstra; Chris Kabel; Anne Mieke Kooper; Felieke van der Leest en Martin Niemeyer; Joep van Lieshout; Miriam van der Lubbe; Sander Luske; MNO; MVRDV; Philips Design; Wouter Nieuwendijk; Bruno Ninaber van Eyben; Ted Noten; npk Industrial Design; Bertjan Pot; Tejo Remy en René Veenhuizen; Frederik Roijé; Scholten & Baijings; Margit Seland; Mara Skujeniece; Wieki Somers; Henk Stallinga; Maartje Steenkamp; Peter Struycken; Studio Job; Frank Tjepkema en Janneke Hooymans; Norman Trapman; Eugène van Veldhoven; Jeroen Vinken; Edward van Vliet; Roderick Vos; Marcel Wanders; Marijke van der Wijst en Annet Haak.