Serpentine Galleries has invited the influential London-based Italian designer Martino Gamper to curate a new exhibition at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. design is a state of mind presented a landscape of shelving systems, telling the story of design objects and their impact on our lives. This was the second major design exhibition staged by the Serpentine, following Design Real curated by Konstantin Grcic in 2009.
An extensive display of shelving systems from the 1930s to the present day formed the backbone of the exhibition. Ranging from historic design classics and one-off pieces, to industrial, utilitarian, contemporary and newly commissioned work, the exhibition included designs by Gaetano Pesce, Franco Albini, Ettore Sottsass, Ercol, Gio Ponti and IKEA.
Each display system was also used to organise and exhibit collections of objects curated from the personal archives of Gamper’s friends and colleagues as well as an extensive library of contemporary furniture manufacturing catalogues from around the world. Designers whose collections were displayed: Enzo Mari; Paul Neale; Max Lamb & Gemma Holt; Jane Dillon; Michael Marriott; Sebastian Bergne; Fabien Cappello; Adam Hills; Michael Anastassiades; Andrew McDonagh & Andreas Schmid; Daniel Eatock and Martino Gamper himself.
Martino Gamper-design is a state of mind
March 5th – April 21st, 2014
West Carriage Drive
Kensington Gardens
London W2 2AR
Upcoming Touring venues:
Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Torino:
23 October 2014 – 1 March 2015
Museion, Bozen/Bolzano: 6 June – 13 September 2015
edges
Courtesy of the artist and Nilufar Gallery, Objects courtesy of Ernst Gamperl
Photograph: © 2014 Hugo Glendinning