Silent Revolutions – Contemporary Design in Slovenia (Eindhoven)

After a successful premiere at London Design Festival 2011, the next presentation of the exhibition Silent Revolutions: Contemporary Design in Slovenia will be in Eindhoven, at Zona Ventosa from 22 to 30 October during Dutch Design Week 2011. The exhibition will be opened on Tuesday 25 October at 7 pm by the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia, His Excellency Leon Marc. The keynote speaker will be Hans Ibelings, editor of A10 new European architecture.

The Silent Revolutions exhibition, which brings together more than 25 selected works set in dialogue with historically iconic design objects, is the first extensive international presentation of Slovene product design of the last two decades. It was a success in London with around 9,200 visitors in four days and received a positive response from visitors and experts with several invitations for presentation and cooperation abroad. Slovenia’s rising contemporary design scene has attracted international interest; among other events when presented along with established names from the world design scene, with Nika Zupanc’s presentation at Superbrands London, and through Gigodesign’s participation in Blueprint Magazine’s discussion at 100% Design. The exhibition has also been selected for inclusion in the Icon Design Trail, the only independent guide to the LDF, which highlights only the most interesting, new, and must-see events and shows at the festival.

The Silent Revolutions comprises a selection of design that marks the first two decades of this young European country. Rather than showing a sweeping overall view the show focuses on outstanding individual cases. The selected design exhibits embody the passion and obsession of individual artists, the drive, innovative development and high-quality production, ranging from the filigree turn-tables by Franc Kuzma and the seductive Black Cherry Lamps by designer Nika Zupanc to Seaway’s Greenline 33 Hybrid, the world’s first large hybrid boat, and Trimo’s Qbiss One with ArtMe modular façade systems. The exhibition also presents certain key productions from the country’s largest actors in the industry, including Elan’s revolutionary series of WaveFlex skis designed in cooperation with Gigodesign studio, Alpina’s Racing Elite cross-country ski boots developed in cooperation with Jure Miklavc studio, and Gorenje’s Simplicity home appliance line by Gorenje Design Studio. The exhibition that illustrates important or even turning-point moments in the history of Slovene design, albeit in terms of a new design mentality or new development trends, is accompanied with an extensive publication that does not focus only on the products and individual designers and studios, but also on clients and producers who played an important role in the implementation of these projects.

By combining economics and culture, together with concerted cooperation with government institutions active in creative industries, this project aims to represent the best of Slovene production and companies and, in so doing, raising Slovenia’s profile through industrial design. The exhibition in London is just the first step toward better recognition of Slovenian companies that appear on foreign markets independently and with their own products, trademarks, and market strategies. After its premiere in London and now Dutch Design Week, the exhibition will be also on display in other important European centers, such as Milan and Helsinki.

More information > http://www.mao.si/Exhibition/Silent-Revolutions-Contemporary-Design-in-Slovenia-%28Eindhoven%29.aspx