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Layers exhibition by Richard Hutten at Gispen
16-07-2009

From now until 6 September 2009, the Layers exhibition by Richard Hutton will be on display in the Gispen showroom in Amsterdam.
The exhibition officially opened on 9 July to a reception of 300 invited guests.

This is the first time that this exhibition has been displayed in the Netherlands. The Layers exhibition was shown in Milan in April 2008 and after Amsterdam, the exhibition travels to Shanghai, where it can be seen during 100% Design Shanghai at Design Republic.

A number of new pieces were specially made for this exhibition. The pieces were made by hand and are unique.
The title of the exhibition, ‘Layers’, comes from the different layers the pieces are made of and is a plea for more depth in the design world.

The styrofoam table
The styrofoam table is built of layers of blue styrofoam. Styrofoam is used by architects to make maquettes. Through this association, which the styrofoam prompts, the entire piece acquires an abstract appearance. The structure of the table is made of carbon fibre and cannot be seen. The piece is finished with a unique resin and the table is feather-light. The legs inspire an association with skyscrapers.

The Muybridge Chair
This chair is named for the pioneer of photography and the inventor of motion picture, Eadweard Muybridge. Like Muybridge, Richard Hutten is a passionate photographer and has made a series of photos of himself, in which he stands up from a sitting position. 53 photos were made of these movements.
These have been scaled, laser-cut from medium-density fibreboard, and pasted together in chronological order. Richard’s thigh is the seat and his torso is the back of the chair. Richard Hutten’s comment on the piece: “Time is transformed into an armchair.”

The Books Chair and the Books Table
These are the pieces that really capture the Layers philosophy. A book is a component. But as a component it is also made up of various page ‘layers’.

Princess and the Pea
This is the bed named after the fairy tale in which a princess can feel a pea under a mountain of mattresses.
Here, there are 7 mattresses on top of one another. Each one has different dimensions and a different fabric and they can be randomly stacked.

Richard Hutten has positioned himself as an artist with this exhibition and as an anthropologist and sociologist, he strengthens the discussion about the objects and design.

In addition to Richard Hutten’s works, a number of other pieces are also on display in the showroom, including the Triennial Chair by Anke Bernotat for Gispen, the Switch light by Richard Hutten, the Histograms by Fabrio Novembre for NgispeN and Melted by Pieke Bergmans and Peter van der Jagt for Lensvelt.

Richard Hutten, internationally the most famous and certainly the most unconventional Dutch designer, is the creative director of Gispen and NgispeN.  Richard Hutten’s design collection was acquired by Gispen in 2008. It is now part of the NgispeN collection, which is specially focused on ‘design for at home’.

Gispen Amsterdam
Duivendrechtsekade 36-38, Amsterdam
T: +31 (0)345 474 211
The showroom can only be visited by appointment