The ‘New Simplicity‘ exhibition presents a range of simplistic ‘no frills’ products designed by both emerging and established international designers. Showcased at this Brompton gallery location are classic designs alongside new innovations utilising the latest Rapid Manufacturing technologies.

NEW SIMPLICITY

24th July-8th August 2010

203 Brompton Road, SW3 1LA (07808 722 962)

With reference to current economic conditions, ‘New simplicity’ reflects the current trend of frugality and a ‘return to basics’ within design. Everyday items (both the classics, new renditions of the past and the latest prototypes) are all highlighted in terms of their simplicity, practicality and affordability.

The most recently unveiled of those products on display are enhanced by improvements in Rapid Manufacturing Technologies, which allow designers to create objects using the minimum number of pieces as possible, thus accenting the notion of simplicity.

The exhibition curator and design critic Nuno Coelho has brought together a range of designers including Alex Hulme and his self assembly torch; Min-Kyu Choi and his award winning folding plug; and David Sutton’s minimal wallet formed in one piece with no moving parts.

Alternative products by differing designers are also unified in the exhibition by their collective belief in simplicity. These designers include: Industrial Facility (Sam Hect and Kim Colin), Jasper Morrison, Oscar Diaz, Jochem Faudet, Jon Harrison, Luka Stepan, Mathias Hahn and Thomas Wagner.

Combining specially commissioned pieces alongside films and drawings, the exhibition features a simultaneous webcast and website.

Images, from top: Branca Chair by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi; Basel Chair by Jasper Morrison for Vitra; Self-Assembly Torch by Alex Hulme; Minimal Wallet by David Sutton; UV Floor Lamp by Jon Harrison for Habitat; I-phone/ I-pod Cable Manager by Jochem Faudet.

Housed at their Mayfair gallery, British producer Established & Sons is showcasing their collection of lighting and objects which they recently developed in collaboration with legendary Italian glass producer Venini.

ESTABLISHED & SONS IN COLLABORATION WITH VENINI

16th July-1oth September 2010

ESTABLISHED & SONS LIMITED

2-3 Duke Street St James’s, London SW1Y 6BJ (020 7968 2040)

The exhibition showcases the six pieces in this collection, which includes designs by Established & Sons existing designers, Sebastian Wrong and Erwan & Ronan Bouroullec and introduces Michael Eden and Konstantin Grcic.

Venini was founded in 1921 on the island of Murano in the Venetian lagoon. Their glassware is handmade using the same wooden and metal tools that were used centuries of years ago, with a workshop of highly skilled artisan fifth generation glass blowers.

From the outset, Venini broke away from the traditional production methods of glassware and design constraints, and embraced an avant-garde style, implementing high quality techniques and colour palettes that have become synonymous with the brand to date.

Images, from top: LightHouse by Erwan & Ronan Bouroullec; Audrey Vase by Michael Eden; Blow by Konstantin Grcic. Images courtesy of Established & Sons.

At ninety-four years of age the Danish-born American designer Jens Risom has collaborated with Rocket Gallery and Benchmark Furniture, who have jointly secured the European rights to reissue his 1950s and 1960s furniture designs. The first collection of nine pieces is being exhibited at Rocket.

JENS RISOM FURNITURE, 2nd July-4th September 2010

ROCKET GALLERY

Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ (020 7729 7594)

The group of furniture released by Rocket includes an easy chair, a side chair, a desk, various coffee tables, two magazine tables, and Risom’s famous upholstered bench. These are shown in a mixture of oak and walnut versions and upholstered in a variety of Kvadrat fabrics and Elmo leathers.

The collection has been creatively directed by Jonathan Stephenson of Rocket and made by Sean Sutcliffe and Terence Conran’s Benchmark Furniture company in their Dorset and Berkshire workshops, with the close involvement of Risom himself.

Jens Risom was born in Copenhagen in 1916. From 1935 to 1938 he attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen where he trained under the furniture-maker Kaare Klint and his fellow students included Hans Wegner.

In 1939, Risom emigrated from Denmark to the USA, where in 1941 he designed the first range of furniture manufactured by Hans Knoll. In 1946, he established Jens Risom Design Inc which grew to become the third largest furniture company in America.

“I set out to design contemporary furniture that was comfortable and practical to use. I developed an American version of Scandinavian modern furniture.” - Jens Risom, Classic Modern

A catalogue of the new furniture collection is available and the pieces can be viewed on the dedicated Jens Risom website.

Simultaneously, as a back-drop to the furniture, Rocket is presenting ‘Black & white minimalism’ with works by Lars Wolter, Michelle Grabner, Stefan Eberstadt, and Keld Helmer-Petersen.

This summer KesselsKramer’s London office, KK Outlet, is welcoming the famous Parisian store colette to their Hoxton Square space. For the first time colette are venturing onto UK soil and bringing with them specially selected products, books, music and art work.

SHOPSWAP, 2nd July-28th August 2010

KK OUTLET

42 Hoxton Square, London N1 6PB (020 7033 7680)

colette is taking over KK Outlet in a style of its own, and KK Outlet is returning the gesture in Paris.

Alongside exclusive colette endorsed products, books and music, KK Outlet is hosting two high profile exhibitions from renowned graffiti writer Monsieur Andre (above) and illustrator Darcel (below). Both artists are showing the best picks from their recent colette shows, including new works and specially created pieces.

In return, KK Outlet is taking over colette (28th June-31st July), installing a unique showcase of products, books, and artwork which best reflects the multi-faceted nature of the company and its output.

colette is a famous destination store – it stocks the hardest to find and coolest products, gadgets, trainers, books, music and fashion. colette regularly collaborate with the likes of BAPE, Chloe Sevigny, Lou Reed, Terry Richardson and Lomography.

KesselsKramer is an independent communications agency located in Amsterdam and London, and has created communication for clients such as Vitra, citizenM, J&B whisky and Diesel. KesselsKramer’s output can encompass many disciplines – from a documentary about the world’s two lowest-ranked football teams (The Other Final) to a book about the worst hotel in the world (Hans Brinker Budget Hotel). KesselsKramer is also a publishing house, producing many titles, often featuring images from the private collections of agency founder, Erik Kessels.

This exhibition is the latest instalment in The Aram Gallery’s ongoing series exploring experimental aspects of design. The show focuses on architectural parts and allows trials and experiments of details, rather than models of whole projects, to take centre stage. A refreshing antidote to polished final pieces.

Prototypes and Experiments V: Architectural Elements

1st July-28th August 2010

THE ARAM GALLERY

110 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5SG (020 7557 7526)

Prototypes and experiments are critical elements in the development process of any new design. If prototypes are the manifestation of the design idea on its way to production, experiments are more like steps on the way. With architecture, elements of a complex project often offer a critical insight into the DNA of that project.

The prototype, being part of a process, makes more real an idea that will lead to a final piece, and is not usually made with the intention of being shown outside the architect’s practice. Experiments are even less refined and sometimes constitute a partial sketch on the way to the prototype. These objects, however, hold a rare charm, and give an insight into the architect’s imagination.

The Aram Gallery is interested in the way designers think and work. Prototypes and Experiments V includes 1:1 elements and samples sourced from the studios of established practices alongside selected drawings and models taken from the architects’ physical or digital sketchbooks.

The Architectural Association (AA) School’s ‘Projects Review’ exhibition offers an opportunity to see the past year’s work of 650 students from this international school of architecture. The exhibition takes place within new buildings and spaces around Bedford Square which have been acquired by the AA over the past year.

PROJECTS REVIEW 2010, 26th June-17th July 2010

ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION SCHOOL

26 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3ES (020 7887 4111)

The exhibition includes hundreds of drawings, models, installations and photographs alongside large 1:1 working prototypes, interactive media and performances; all of which provide a snapshot of the latest thinking, experimentation and invention underway within the AA School.

The Royal College of Art’s talent pool of 2010 is on show within the college galleries in Kensington. This end of year showcase is an important time for talent scouts to pick up on the latest postgraduate talent and their challenging ideas.

RCA SHOW PART TWO, 25th June-4th July 2010

ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART

Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU

Part Two is dedicated to graduating students from Animation, Architecture, Communication Art & Design, Design Products, Design Interactions, Fashion Footwear and Accessories, History of Design, Innovation Design Engineering, Textiles and Vehicle Design.

This year is Tord Boontje’s first show as Head of Design Products. His students have taken over a whole floor of the Stevens Building, just a short walk from the main galleries across Jay Mews. This gives the department a unique space to exhibit and interact with visitors so be sure to pop over the road to see it.

For the first time at the RCA Show, a group of students from several departments are exhibiting collectively in the central courtyard of the Darwin building, under the banner Department 21. They are hosting a series of public events with guests speakers.

Furthermore, Painting and Sculpture students are exhibiting simultaneously at the RCA’s new Battersea campus (Howie Street, SW11 4AS). Hop on board a Routemaster bus for a free ride between the two Shows, running every half hour on weekends throughout Show Two dates.

This exhibition by leading designer Tord Boontje overturns the conventional expectations of what lace might be. In this collection of work showing at Marsden Woo Gallery, Boontje employs traditional craft skills while substituting unorthodox materials, changing the references and subverting our preconceived notions of value.

TORD BOONTJE: The Lace Maker, 24th June-31st July 2010

MARSDEN WOO GALLERY

17-18 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DN (020 7336 6396)

“With lace,” Boontje points out, “all the value is invested in the labour and so it seemed a good idea to start working with cheap materials … But also, by changing the material you can change the references.”

Works in the exhibition include a dramatic black sofa that emerges from a large three-dimensional web-like structure of bound and knotted Aramide and Dynema fibres. The sofa is one example of what he has been able to create by employing traditional craft skills, while substituting unorthodox materials. Others are a curtain composed in a random pattern of tangled flora and a selection of exuberant lighting designs, all constructed from natural raffia.

Some of the more delicate works are items of jewellery, such as necklaces and a hairpiece, and a selection of test samples made in a variety of natural materials, including grass. The exhibition includes a short video about the process of making a raffia lace dress, offering further insights into his approach, which he describes as “spontaneous – not organized and symmetrical.”

Installation shots courtesy of Marsden Woo Gallery (© Phil Sayer).

Sensuous ’spinning tops’ in captivating jewel-like colours are being presented by Vessel Gallery in this exhibition of new unique art glass works by British artist Katy Holford.

LUMINOUS SPIRIT: GLASS SCULPTURES BY KATY HOLFORD, 22nd June-31st July 2010

VESSEL GALLERY

114 Kensington Park Road, London W11 2PW (020 7727 8001)

Greatly influenced by Buddhist culture, Holford has succeeded in encapsulating the nature of chakra energy points of the body within the glass medium. Molten glass takes its shape by heating and rotating, in much the same way as chakras are viewed as whorls of circulating energy. The result is a “successful fusion of the real and metaphysical, the solid and the fluid, the stasis of meditation and the vigor of movement.”

The works are produced in collaboration with renowned British glass maker, Bob Crooks. Having worked together for 16 years, Crooks’ superb glass making skills are more than equal to Holford’s technically challenging forms using under and overlaid layers of glass to create a resonating depth of tone.

At a time when every nation seems to be showing off its cultural cards on an international platform, it would seem that Switzerland has also joined the ranks with an exhibition of Swiss graphic, product, and urban designers.

SWITZERLAND: DESIGN FOR LIFE, 19th June-1st July 2010

A FOUNDATION

Rochelle School & Club Row, Arnold Circus, London E2 7ES (020 7033 3539)

The exhibition is divided into two parts that ultimately complement each other.

Part one – Contemporary Swiss Design:

This part celebrates the work of a new generation of Swiss designers living and working in London. It features the work of twelve of Switzerland’s most talented young designers: Laurent Benner, Alex Bettler, Kueng Caputo, Zak Kyes, Jurg Lehni, Urs Lehni & Lex Trub, Loris & Livia, Elena Rendina and Regis Tosetti. These designers produce innovative, fresh ways of working, creating projects that move across disciplines; by making furniture, designing books and organizing events.

The exhibition is curated by Vanessa Norwood, Head of Exhibitions with the AA Exhibitions Department.

Part two – Reinventing An Image:

There are more 20th century poster masterpieces from Switzerland than any other country, the reasons for which lie mainly in a vigorous national program to promote the poster and its printers; and a series of great teachers who advanced the art of the poster. The Swiss poster though had its roots in the travel poster.

The Swiss have continued to create beautiful illustrated posters for their tourism industry and the exhibition displays a range of the most influential and striking. The vintage posters have been put together by Artifiche, a Zürich based Poster Gallery which has become the leading poster gallery in Switzerland. It’s huge collection features Swiss and international vintage posters over the past 100 years.

Ten Swiss graphic designers, curated alongside ID Pure, a Swiss magazine of graphic design and visual creation, are presenting their contemporary interpretation of a Swiss travel poster for today. These designers from various Swiss cities include: Buro Destruct, Nerves, Bureau Collective, Stefan Jost, ID Pure studio, Super Position, Grotesk and GVA Studio. How do they portray Switzerland and what images do they use now ? Do they choose to avoid clichés or embrace them ? The new works are exhibited alongside the original posters.

There is also a bookshop where books containing Swiss design and designers, lithographs, magazines and a newly-designed Victorinox Swiss Army Knife are on display and available to buy.