From September 27, 2017, through January 15, 2018, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present the exhibition “Joris Laarman Lab: Design in the Digital Age”. Organized by the Groninger Museum, the Netherlands, the acclaimed exhibition will make its U.S. debut at Cooper Hewitt and travel to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
About the Exhibition
“Design in the Digital Age” will feature experimental works by Dutch designer Joris Laarman, including furniture generated by smart algorithms, the world’s first fully functional 3-D printed steel bridge and a 3-D printable Makerchair that can be downloaded from the internet. Working at the intersection of design, art, and science, Laarman and his multidisciplinary team are known for their pioneering and elegant applications of digital technologies. From the iconic Bone Chair generated from algorithms that mimic bone growth to a pedestrian bridge built in midair using advanced robotic 3D printing, Joris Laarman Lab is revolutionizing the design process.
In this first U.S. major exhibition, Laarman’s most thrilling advancements point to a future where form and fabrication surpass the limitations of industrial production. Organized by the Groninger Museum’s Chief Curator Mark Wilson and Curator of Contemporary Art, Design and Fashion Sue-an van der Zijpp, the exhibition showcases early, recent and new work by Laarman, alongside videos, sketches, renderings and experimental objects.
Design Talk: Coding Beauty with Joris Laarman
In conjunction with the exhibition “Joris Laarman Lab: Design in the Digital Age”, curator Andrea Lipps will sit down with Laarman to discuss how his boundless curiosity and experimental design thinking informs the creative output of Joris Laarman Lab. Known for their pioneering and elegant applications of digital technologies, Joris Laarman Lab straddles tradition and innovation, high technology and craftsmanship, aesthetics and function to create some of the world’s most notable contemporary design.
The Design Talk will take place on Thursday, September 28, 2017, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. For tickets click here.
Tea & Talk: Joris Laarman Lab
Thursday, October 26, 2017, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Join the Cooper Hewitt for tea and a guided tour of Joris Laarman Lab: Design in the Digital Age. The program will be led by the exhibition’s curator Andrea Lipps, who will discuss key themes and exciting new developments in digital technology and furniture design. Information about tickets click here.
Workshop 3-D Printing
How Does 3-D Printing Work? | Adult Hands-on Workshop
Monday, November 6, 2017 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Have you ever wondered how 3D printing works? Join curator Andrea Lipps and Shapeway’s Director of Education + Designer Evangelist Lauren Slowik for a hands-on workshop inspired by tJoris Laarman Lab. Participants will have an opportunity to visit the exhibition, get an in-depth overview of 3D-printing methods, and experiment with Laarman’s design process by creating a brooch from small metal cubes that represent volumetric pixels.
Skill Level: Beginner
Information about tickets click here.
About Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab is an experimental playground set up to study and shape the future. It tinkers with craftsmen, scientists, and engineers on the many new possibilities of upcoming technology and its consequential esthetics. The work is very diverse, from sculptural experimental furniture and innovative production processes to museum installations, film, digital media, and workshops at universities around the world.
The lab started in 2004 by Joris Laarman and partner and filmmaker Anita Star. Both grew up in the rural countryside of the Netherlands. Joris attended the Design Academy Eindhoven in 1998 and graduated cum laude in 2003. He gained first notoriety with the Reinventing functionality project, which included functional rococo radiator Heatwave that was picked up by Droog design and now produced by Jaga. He contributed in articles and seminars for Domus magazine and was a guest teacher at European universities like the Architectural Association London, Rietveld academy Amsterdam and the Design academy Eindhoven. During her study film and documentary, Anita joined forces in 2004.
The work of Joris Laarman Lab has been added to the permanent collections of many renowned international museums like the MoMA, V&A, Centre Pompidou and recently the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam where the Bonechair is the closing work of the 20st-century collection. In 2011 Joris Laarman received an innovator of the year award by the wall street journal. End 2015 a solo exhibition of the experimental work initiated by the Groningen museum started traveling around the world.
