European Design Since 1985

Shaping the New Century

This exhibition is the first critical survey of contemporary Western European decorative and industrial design, organized by IMA Design Curator R. Craig Miller. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue present 250 seminal works including furniture, ceramics, metalwork, glass and product design that reveal the extraordinary creativity of two generations of designers in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Scandinavia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The exhibition features seminal work by by internationally renowned designers including Ron Arad, Maarten Baas, Barber Osgerby, Jurgen Bey, Tord Boontje, Matali Crasset, Piet Hein Eek, Hella Jongerius and Marcel Wanders.

European Design Since 1985 reflects an important initiative by the IMA in the area of 20th- and 21st-century design. The project, which has required six years of extensive research, has been organized in cooperation with the Denver Art Museum and Kingston University, London. The exhibition will travel to a number of American museums and potentially to Europe and Asia. A scholarly catalogue produced by Merrell Publishers, London, will be distributed internationally.