Social Design of Rietveld

March 26 - May 14, 2017

opening Sunday March 26, 16.00 hrs by Job Meihuizen

VIVID organized the first -ever- Rietveld exhibition in a Dutch gallery. Now 4 years later VIVID again proudly presents works by Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964).
'Social design of Rietveld' is the title of the new exhibition which will show an even larger range of works by the greatest Dutch architect and designer.

The Red Blue Chair, one of the works on display, was designed 100 years ago by Gerrit Rietveld. It turned out to be Rietveld's manifest of ideas and it also represents one of the first explorations by the De Stijl art movement in three dimensions.
The design process he developed in that time had the intention to contribute to an improving human well-being and livelihood. He practiced this 'Social Design' for almost 50 years.

With the Red Blue chair Rietveld's goal was to relieve the volume of the classic armchair and focus on functionality. The result was a chair that consisted of fifteen bars, two rectangular plates as a backrest and seat, and two side panels (that would disappear later on). Hoping that much of his furniture would eventually be mass-produced rather than handcrafted, Rietveld aimed for simplicity in construction. The pieces of wood that comprise the Red Blue Chair are in the standard lumber sizes readily available at the time.

20 works by Rietveld will be on display in this exhibition. Most come from private collections and have never been shown in public before. 5 small models by Rietveld come from the collection of Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam.

The exhibion will also give attention to 2 building projects by Rietveld, De Hoeksteen church in Uithoorn and 52 dwellings in Reeuwijk. At this time there are plans that will destroy these important works by Rietveld.

The exhibition at Galerie VIVID has been made possible with the support of Het Nieuwe instituut, Rotterdam and Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam