The Harris Gallery presents NOWHAUS: Domestic Objects in the Modernist Tradition, an exhibition of art and design including modernist furniture, contemporary ceramics and custom bicycle design.
Co-curated by Dion Johnson and Jon Leaver this exhibition highlights works by artists and designers such as Gae Aulenti, Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames, Naoto Fukasawa, Frank Gehry, Greta Grossman, Jordan Hufnagel, Jim lsermann, Yoko Ueno Lewis, Ben Medansky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Jasper Morrison, Verner Panton, Marc Newsome, Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs, Christopher Stearns, Kipp Stewart, Massimo Vignelli, Russell Wright and Carol Young, all of whom exemplify the combination of elegance and functionalism that marks the modernist tradition. NOWHAUS traces the lineage of contemporary design back through the American mid-century modern period examining how inventive, exuberant design arose out of experiments with new materials and manufacturing techniques in the post-WWII era, a trend that continues into the postmodern present. Alongside this heritage, NOWHAUS emphasizes the eclecticism of contemporary design, which, despite its minimalist aesthetic, draws influences from as far afield as Japan and Scandinavia.
NOWHAUS also looks further back to the radical origins of the modernist style in the Bauhaus school of design that came to prominence in 1920s and 30s Weimar Germany. The school’s curriculum, which sought to unify fine art and design, resulted in the production of objects that married beauty with unornamented functionalism. Moreover, by favoring mass-production over luxury, the Bauhaus stressed the social function of design – good design available to all represented a significant social good. This democratic, socially progressive ethos ran through the international modernist style that emerged from the Bauhaus. By examining the current state of domestic design, NOWHAUS raises questions about whether the modernist style has retained this political dimension in the contemporary consumerist context.