V&A
China Design Now
15 March - 13 July 2008
 


The V&A’s spring exhibition, China Design Now, examines the recent explosion of new design in China, from the 2008 Olympic stadium to the most interesting fashion and graphics. The journey starts in the far south, where graphic designers in Shenzhen explored new directions in the early 1990s. In Shanghai, consumerism and urban culture have combined to produce astonishing new fashion and 21st century lifestyles. Finally, the display moves to Beijing, where monumental architecture for the Olympic Games is transforming this ancient capital’s skyline.

China Design Now looks at China’s dreams and hopes over the last two decades, from individual designers to the nation as a whole. It is our hope that this exhibition will bring contemporary China closer to you.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/
microsites/1636_chinadesignnow/

Pallant House, Chichester
Colin St. John Wilson: Collector and Architect
9 February - 8 June 2008

Commemorating the life and work of Colin St John 'Sandy' Wilson (1922–2007), this retrospective celebrates Wilson's legacy through his architectural achievements and outstanding collection of twentieth century British art amassed over a lifetime and given to Pallant House Gallery through the Art Fund in 2004. The exhibition coincides with a major rehang of the Wilson Gift, with works by Wilson's contemporaries Michael Andrews, Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, R.B. Kitaj, Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton, as well as major figures including David Bomberg, William Coldstream and Walter Sickert all on show.

http://www.pallant.org.uk/

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Dora Dolz
¿Adónde vas?
December 2007 - Mid June 2008
 
In the exhibition, the daylit gallery and adjacent garden evoke the intimate and warm atmosphere that characterises Dora Dolz’s house and studio in Rotterdam. Furniture from the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and Rotterdam’s Historisch Museum are placed upon carpets designed by Dolz and surrounded by her objects, paintings and sketch designs. The exhibition includes many glass pieces: monumental pieces, ethereal lamps, fanciful dishes and vases.

http://www.boijmans.nl/en/
10/press/pressitem/21

Hermitage, Amsterdam
Art Nouveau under the last Tsars
13 October 2007 - 15 May 2008



Featuring objects from the decorative arts collections held by the Hermitage in St Petersburg, this exhibition displays works  by the glassmakers Émile Gallé, the Daum brothers, René Lalique and Carl Fabergé.  French diplomatic gifts to the tsars are some of the star exhibits. There are also Russian Stil Modern items which are interesting as they were made for the Russian market and are relatively unknown in the West.

http://www.hermitage.nl/
en/content.htm

Vitra Design Museum
Weil am Rhein
Living Under the Crescent Moon
Domestic Cultures in the Arab World
23 February 2008 - 31 August 2008   
(touring exhibition)



"The casbah of Algiers has everything: all the elements of an architecture that shows immeasurable sensitivity to human needs and desires." With this statement, Le Corbusier expressed his great admiration for the architecture of the Orient. Following in his footsteps, many of today's architects and designers draw inspiration from the Arab world. At the same time, due to the present political situation, our knowledge of these countries is generally limited to daily news reports on politics and social issues. Now the Vitra Design Museum is exploring the myths and realities of the Arab world in its exhibition "Living Under the Crescent Moon," which offers a comprehensive and fascinating survey of Arab domestic cultures.

http://www.design-museum.de/
museum/ausstellungen
/halbmond/index.php

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin
The Age of Industry - between Revolution 1848 and Empire 1871
24 April - 31 August 2008

http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/
gruenderzeit/index.html 

The exhibition, orientated toward the economy and cultural history, treats the industrial upturn, the emergence of a new world of goods and at the same time the zest for progress and the fulfilment of the visions of the enterprising middle classes between the outset of the revolution and the establishment of the German Empire.

http://www.dhm.de/ENGLISH/
ausstellungen/index.html