Exhibition Design

The exhibition architecture for Fritz Wotruba is a resonance space that presents the form and the content of his work simply, precisely, and with a sense of depth. The chronological parkour is a key element, whose complex trajectories structure the show. The sculptures enter into a visible dialogue. Wotruba’s materials of stone, plaster, and bronze contrast with the strong and sustainable corrugated cardboard, which provides a visual and physical counterweight to the solidity of his works. The bases resemble topographic landscapes that integrate the visitors into a dialogic spatial sequence: choreographed but not prescribed. Wall panels and cardboard volumes create a space within a space, an agora that envelopes the main route. Untouched outside walls opens up views of external sculptures that are knowingly integrated into the scenography: glimpses through and across the space and visual axes break up the linearity to permit a richly complex reaction to the eye-level sculptures.

Two exhibition areas that were previously separated by a passage were connected to form a dynamic spatial continuum. The disengagement of the perimeter of the display space from the existing baroque wall creates multifunctional presentation surfaces and integrates all the exhibition technology. The continuous form of the functional crenellation invokes the building’s historical openings while transforming the baroque architecture into an up-to-date setting for contemporary art. These raised elements act as solar protection, soften the daylight flowing into the exhibition area, and establish an atmospheric spatial situation. The original passage now meets the classic pragmatic requirements of a public exhibition venue: a central, all-in-one element of furniture combines the ticket office, bookshop, and cloakroom and provides room for concentrated communication. The temporary fittings preserve the historical substance while giving the location significance and identity.

El Lissitzky’s works from his first solo exhibition in 1923 at the Kestner Gesellschaft were presented, as well as selected works by his artistic contemporaries and present-day artists. The aim was to find a suitable place for each work to unfold to its full potential and to create associative connections across 4 rooms and 2 floors. Using 3D modeling, we developed a spatial structure “experimental space” in which interlocking guidelines and reference fields were inscribed. Visitors were able to read these like traces in space. Surfaces were partly covered with the color black, which El Lissitzky described as “space-eating”, as well as with mirrors. His installation “Prounen-Raum” was the central work of art and in the surrounding space the spatial choreography with the exhibits, exhibition infrastructure with “Prounen-Dreieck”, showcases, monitors etc. and visitors themselves. The whole structure could be viewed virtually, via a QR code, overlaid on the space.

How can we grasp Vienna in its entirety? Attempts to get a visual handle on this ever-growing city have fascinated us for centuries  – whether in the form of classic panoramas, bird’s-eye views, postcards, or city maps. Yet maps and panoramas exist in a  productive field of tension between the demands of completeness and fragmentation, between making visible and concealing, be tween orientation and control. In all cases, the result is not a depiction of “real” territory, but rather an idealized model, image, or vision of the city.

The objective of the exhibition design was to address not only the presentation of the works of art, but also the conceptual approach to the collection. The exhibition space was transformed by full-height panels into an endless, abstract landscape, which was regularly populated by new works from the collection as a means of involving the visitors in its permanently changing discursive potential. The interrupted, reflective horizon forced the observers to confront not just themselves but also their immediate artistic context. This resulted in a truly fictional setting, which opened up diverse and new perceptual opportunities. With the exception of the object “Bunny Gets Snookered #3” by Sarah Luca, which was a permanent fixture, all the works of art were exchanged during the nine months of the exhibition.

The challenge was to present the work of the designers while also making the complex circumstances under which they worked tangible to the public.
The narrative and atmospheric “backbone” to the exhibition was a timeline, which, translated as a semi-transparent layered spatial structure, was positioned in the centre of the space and contained information about the development of the enterprise and the work of the designers. This presentation method ensured that the more intense phases of production, historic events and the evolution of both technology and the spirit of the age were easy to follow.

Between myths and facts. The starting point of the interactive exhibition was the aim of making the phenomenon of “hovering above” haptically sensuous and tangible. A carpet printed with cloud motifs that become a distant horizon on the wall evokes the feeling of floating above a landscape of clouds. A mirror wall reinforces the illusion of wide-open space. Further integrated installations and a flying object form the scientific stations of the exhibition. In order to focus the attention of visitors on the information and the experiments, all the objects are made from a single material, MDF.

Planet in crisis. Earth in the emergency room. Man-made ecological and social disasters threaten to make the planet uninhabitable. The situation is critical and dominated by the interests of capital, architecture and urbanism are caught up in the crisis. The exhibition “Critical Care” shows how architecture and urbanism can help to repair the future and keep the planet alive with its inhabitants. The exhibition “Critical Care” is a plea for a new attitude: for architecture and urbanism in which care is taken. 21 recent examples from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, the USA and Latin America demonstrate that architecture and urban development do not have to submit to the dictates of capital and the exploitation of resources and labor.

The Dresden Kunstgewerbemuseum has over 55,000 inventory numbers, behind which there are many stories. The first exhibition under the new Director Tulga Beyerle sought to communicate her concept for approaching these objects.

The surrounding walls were covered with the inventory numbers of the institution.

Embedded in this abstract depository of objects, nine specific subject areas were presented in spatial, narrative and written terms on island platforms.