Art & Exhibitions
Celebrating international creativity.
Highlights from Jerusalem Design Week 2023
Design can be manipulative, an edgy Jerusalem Design Week 2023 proves. For this year’s event, held June 22-29 at cultural center Hansen House in Israel’s capital, 150 international designers, artists, illustrators, and creators presented objects and site-specific installations after an open call for ‘lies and falsehoods.’
A loose definition of design prevailed—and that was intentional. “Design is not only the shape and the aesthetic, but also the planning,” explains artistic director Sonja Olitsky, who curated the show alongside Dana Ben Shalom and Jeremy Fogel. From a living room that requires a mow to an AI that studies your coffee grounds, as well as armed and dangerous nesting dolls, here are 11 of our favorite finds from this year’s show. Photography by Dor Kedmi. More in Interior Design magazine.
Highlights from the 2022 La Biennale di Venezia
Postponed by one year and overcoming the uncertainty of the global pandemic with a bang, the 2022 edition of La Biennale di Venezia recently opened its doors. Titled “Milk of Dreams” and curated by Cecilia Alemani, the 59th International Art Exhibition runs through November 27 in Venice and has pivoted to account for the ever-shifting global climate.
The Ukrainian pavilion prepared for 2021 was replaced with a more current response to the invasion of the country. Nearby, the Russian pavilion lies empty—the participants resigned following the invasion of Ukraine—and protestors against the war gather daily. However, the 213 artists from 58 countries featured in the Central Pavilion (Giardini) and in the Arsenale offer more than a dash of escapism, with a dreamy alternative reality frequently found among the 1,433 works on view. From larger-than-life sculptures intended to empower Black women to hyperrealistic centaurs, here are 13 of our favorite finds. Photography by Alice Clancy/courtesy of CKY Studio. More in Interior Design magazine.
Ground-Breaking Conceptual Projects Address the Complex Problems of Our Time
What if we really listened to the social and economic ideas of those with Down Syndrome? What if AI could be taught to help solve our environmental problems?
From war and poverty to climate change, humanity faces crippling issues daily, and Driving the Human: 21 Visions for Eco-social Renewal, a three-day festival held October 15 to 17 at Berlin’s arts center Radialsystem, tackled them head-on. Part of the international mentorship program “Forecast,” the event featured innovative concepts intended to spark global dialogue. The ideas were expressed in the form of installations, performances, and video presentations, which combined art and science. Photography courtesy of Iris Qu. More in Metropolis magazine.
A Survey of Women Designers Opens in Germany
London- and Hamburg- based designer Julia Lohmann is one of the contemporary designers included in Here We Are!: Women in Design 1900–Today, an exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil-am-Rhein, Germany. She is pictured in the studio of the transdisciplinary platform Department of Seaweed, where she and her colleagues explore the industrial design potential of this untapped biomaterial. Those unable to visit the museum in person can explore the exhibit on the museum’s YouTube channel and website. Photography courtesy of Petr Krejci. More in Metropolis magazine.
Highlights from the 2021 La Biennale di Venezia
“How Will We Live Together?” So asks this year’s La Biennale di Venezia. The 17th edition of the architecture exhibition, postponed in 2020, is now underway in Venice, and post-pandemic, this question—startlingly prescient—takes on new meaning.
Through November 22, 112 participants from 46 countries explore the topic with highly diverse results. Sure, it’s living with fellow humanity, but what about co-existing with animals, birds, and the earth? From edible algae you can grow in your own home to a device encouraging short, spontaneous napping, to a dual-purpose sculpture that is also a bird house, here are 15 of our favorite finds. Photography by Cristiano Corte/© the British Council. More in Interior Design magazine.