Rediscovering, reusing and thus rediscovering used goods is in trend. Hella Jongerius knows this too. With a narrative installation in Munich’s Neue Sammlung, the internationally award-winning designer and the porcelain manufactory Nymphenburg invite visitors to rediscover the topic of re-use in a creative, sustainable and forward-looking way. Nymphenburg is the last purest manufactory of its kind. Since its foundation in 1747, the high art of porcelain production has been cultivated at the manufactory of the Bavarian royal house. Hella Jongerius, born near Utrecht in 1963, founded her studio Jongeriuslab in 1993 after studying at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. Since then, she has developed products, collections and interiors for companies such as Maharam, KLM, Vitra and Danskina, her designs often combining the latest technological achievements with sometimes centuries-old craftsmanship techniques. Jongerius has already designed several collections for Nymphenburg. Best known are the “animal bowls” she designed for the porcelain manufactory in 2004 and 2012.
At the heart of the installation “Hella Jongerius: Phoenix – reborn beauty” is a table that connects generations of different kinds: On the one hand, people who gather around it, on the other, porcelain objects with which it is set. As for the porcelain, all the plates that adorn this special table have a story. This is also the subject of the short stories that visitors can listen to through headphones. Some pieces were inherited, others given away, others bought second-hand. Thanks to two new designs that Jongerius has created for Nymphenburg, the porcelain pieces now have a new future: the “Dripping” décor covers what is underneath in blue, black or golden streaks to make it deliberately invisible; the “Weeds” plant décor lets the plates be overgrown with various fantasy weeds. “Generation T”, they say, stands for tradition, transformation and tableware. Behind this is an initiative by the manufacturer and the designer against the waste of valuable human and material resources. The idea for this project arose from the need to “bring back to life and reuse plates, cups and bowls of unique quality that are no longer perceived as contemporary”.
The cooperation project of Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum and porcelain manufactory Nymphenburg takes place on the occasion of the “munich creative business week 2023” (mcbw) and can be seen from 6 May to 18 June. On 9 May, as part of the mcbw, a panel discussion entitled “Mix All Things” will take place in the “New Modes” series in the X-D-E-P-O-T of the Neue Sammlung from 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. David Zilber, Kai Langer and Hella Jongerius will talk about the potential of new collaborations between people, nature and technology and how new connections can be created from existing resources.
More on ndion
Discover more articles on the topic of design as well as current exhibitions.
Share this page on social media:
