Installation shot of the Bauhaus retrospective at the Vitra Design Museum
Installation shot of the Bauhaus retrospective at the Vitra Design Museum
Installation shot of the Bauhaus retrospective at the Vitra Design Museum
Installation shot of the Bauhaus retrospective at the Vitra Design Museum
Installation shot of the Bauhaus retrospective at the Vitra Design Museum
Bauhaus blocks set, 22 parts by Alma Siedhoff-Buscher. Photograph by Heiko Hillig, courtesy of Naef
Heavy Metal cup and saucer, 2008, by Dokter and Misses
Mechanical Ballet, 1923, by Kurt Schmidt with F W Bogler and G Teltscher. New production at Theater der Klänge, 2009. Photograph by O Eltinger
Mural workshop, Bauhaus Dessau, 1926. Image courtesy of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Archiv der Moderne
Student on one of the atelier balconies at Bauhaus Dessau, around 1928/1929, by Marianne Brandt. Image courtesy of Pro Litteris
Photograph from an instruction manual for the usage of tools by Thonet brothers, 1935
Armchair MR 20/3, 1927, by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Image courtesy of Pro Litteris
Lounge chair B3 (known as Wassily Chair), 1925, by Marcel Breuer. Image courtesy of Jürgen Hans, Vitra Design Museum
Wassily Chair, 1983, by Alessandro Mendini. Image courtesy of Jürgen Hans, Vitra Design Museum
Pipe table and chair, 2009, by Konstantin Grcic. Photography by Florian Böhm
Lightness 3-D-Print, 2015, by Alberto Meda. Image courtesy of Alberto Meda
Still from Minecraft: Titan City, 2014, by Colonial Puppet. Part of the exhibition contribution by Joseph Grima, Space Caviar

Vitra Design Museum hosts major Bauhaus retrospective

Emma Tucker | 11 October 2015 1 comment

Work from Bauhaus artists and designers including Walter Gropius, Marianne Brandt and Wassily Kandinsky is on display at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany (+ slideshow).

Bauhaus retrospective at Vitra Design Museum — Mechanical Ballet, 1923, by Kurt Schmidt with F W Bogler and G Teltscher. New production at Theater der Klänge, 2009. Photograph by O Eltinger

Created as a comprehensive overview of work from the influential German art and design school, the exhibition covers a range of disciplines including design, architecture, art, film and photography.

Founded by Gropius in 1919, the Bauhaus taught Modernist principles across art, architecture, graphic design, interior design and industrial design.

Subsequent directors included architects Hannes Meyer – from 1928 to 1930 – and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who served until the school closed under pressure from the Nazi government in 1933.

The show, titled The Bauhaus #itsalldesign, is divided into four themed sections, with many of the pieces never having been exhibited before.

The opening part of the exhibition examines the historical context of the Bauhaus, while successive sections examine lesser-known design objects, and the theme of space – with a focus on the different individuals that contributed to the school's design approach.

A final section examines communication, covering typography as well as experimental film and photography.

Key pieces on display include Walter Gropius' 1919 manifesto, a Ludwig Mies van der Rohe armchair with U-shaped metal arms, and Josef Albers' 1923 Park stained glass panel.

Historic objects are contrasted by work from contemporary designers influenced by the movement, such as Konstantin Grcic's Pipe table and chair, Opendesk's Edie stool and Front Design's Sketch furniture.

Additional pieces were also commissioned for the exhibition by artists Adrian Sauer and Olaf Nicolai, and architects Philipp Oswalt and Joseph Grima – who submitted a digital "docudrama" that follows the ghost of Gropius through the universe of video game Minecraft.

A recent international competition calling for proposals for a new Bauhaus museum was jointly won by two designs – a long rectangular building with an external structure frame, and a group of colourful conjoined pods.