10 Dutch designers exhibiting at ‘Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital’

Wed, Oct 16 - Tue, Apr 1  2014

A Cinderella Table by Jeroen Verhoeven and Jan Habraken’s never-ending exploration into the genetics of chair design: just a few of the contemporary works of the 10 Dutch designers exhibiting at Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York. Opening on October 16th and running through June 2014, the exhibition explores the impact of digital fabrication on contemporary design, art, and architecture.

Out of Hand aims to discover  today’s creativity that has been made possible by advanced digital fabrication methods in computer-assisted production such as 3D printing, CNC (computer-numerically-controlled) machining and digital knitting. According to MAD ‘this will be the first museum show to consider the impact of these new, revolutionary methods of computer-assisted manufacture on fine art, design, and architecture.’

Most of the Dutch artists exhibiting at MAD are alumni of Design Academy Eindhoven, an interdisciplinary educational institute for art, architecture and design in the Netherlands. Traditionally, Eindhoven has been a city with a wealth of industry. Today it is a boundary-pushing and inventive region where technology, design and knowledge (TDK) are consciously and deliberately deployed. The world is changing rapidly, and Eindhoven is changing with it, acting as a magnet that attracts talented individuals, students, start-ups and international businesses to the city.

Also originally from Eindhoven, and on the cutting edge of arts and design, the Dutch 3D-printing marketplace and service Shapeways is partnering with MAD for the exhibition and will host ‘OUT OF HAND/HANDS ON’.  This is an educational and interactive space on the Museum’s second floor where visitors will be able to experience 3D design and printing firsthand.

Opening its NYC facility in 2012, Shapeways made the Big Apple fall in love with 3-D printing and innovative manufacturing. ‘New York City – the center of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship – is a natural home for Shapeways (…)’, mayor Bloomberg said at ribbon-cutting for Shapeways’ 25,000-square-foot Factory of the Future.

At Out of Hand, Shapeways will help visitors to create their own 3D models and have the opportunity to be 3D scanned and 3D printed into mini figurines by an in-house high resolution 3D printer in any of the 30 materials currently available.

Other Dutch designers and artists exhibiting at MAD are Demakersvan, Joris Laarman, Lucas Maassen, Alissia Melka-Teichroew, Marloes ten Bhömer, Unfold, Daan van den Berg and Dirk Vander Kooij.