The State of Things

Each grouping of works represented a contemporary category whether through the materials employed, the concepts conveyed, or the uses intended, these objects reflect our times so acutely that they could only have been made in the last few years, and thus bespeak the current “state of things.”

The categories of the exhibition were: New Essentialism, Mutant Remix, Of the Body, Social Anxiety, Super Beauty, Craft Economy and Design Lab.

“Today, more than at any other time in the past, people around the globe live in an elevated state of anxiety provoked by both actual and perceived dangers. As a result of this heightened sensitivity to potential risks and threats, suddenly we all question where to find a secure environment in which to live our lives. Some of the most significant contemporary issues that engender feelings of powerlessness, helplessness and social disintegration include the international economic meltdown, seemingly never-ending wars, the threat of terrorism, widely transmittable diseases, increasing destruction of the environment, natural disasters and the growing divide between the wealthy and the more than 1,200,000,000 people living on less than $1 a day.” – Social Anxiety and Contemporary Design / By Barbara Bloemink.

Designers:

Pieke Bergmans, Joost Van Bleiswijk, Rusty D, POLKA, Kwangho Lee, Tarazi Studio, Maarten, Baas, Maxim Velcovsky, Ineke Hans, Jaime Hayon, Richard Hutten, Roché and Greg Dry, Max Lamb, Claesson Koivisto Rune, Front, Jo Meesters, Nendo, Ryan Frank, Pearson Lloyd, Matali Crasset, Björn Franke, Alice Wang, Ted Ciamillo, Stuart Karten Design, 5.5 Designers, Kyeok, Kim, Yves Behar, Stephen Burks, Shwe Shwe Poppi Trust, Marisa Fick-Jordaan, Nipa Doshi & Jonathan Levien, Jürgen Mayer H., Greg Lynn, Patrick Jouin, Tokujin Yoshioka, Konstantin Grcic, Mark Holmes, Damian O’Sullivan, Freshwest, Tom Dixon, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Ben Wilson, RKS, Leon Ransmeier, Nicolas le Moigne, Peter Arnell, Shay Alkalay, Kouichi Okamoto, Dick Van Hoff, Joana Meroz, Ingo Maurer, Joris Laarman, Karyna Schultz, Tobias Wong, Marcel Wanders, Constantin Boym and Laurene Leon Boym, Andreas, Angelidakis, Khashayar Naimanan, Campana Brothers, Michael Minelli, Cory Ingram, WOKmedia, Michael Cross and Julie Mathias (WOKmedia), Yael Mer, Jelte Van Geest, Vestergaard Frandsen, Moritz Waldemeyer, Jane Solomon, Heath Nash, Roelf Mulder, Janne Kyttanen, NEL Colectivo, Jessica Smith, Luc Merx, Meridian Design, Gareth Neal, Niels van, Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe, Dror Benshetrit