Sabine Marcelis Gives the Vitra Archive a Color Makeover
Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis, known for furniture and lighting made of shiny resin surfaces and pastel color gradients, has a knack for brightening things up (just see her vibrant blue sink on our March 2022 cover). So it’s not surprising that, upon being asked to put her spin on the grouping of the Vitra Design Museum’s collection, the result is a vibrant overhaul.
Colour Rush!, on view at the Herzog & de Meuron–designed Vitra Schaudepot in Weil am Rhein, Germany, through May 2023, explores the history behind some 400 objects in Vitra’s archive grouped by color. From Terje Ekstrom’s brilliant red tubular vintage chair to Mischer’Traxler Studio’s natural green bench, Marcelis’s curation brings to light the role that color plays in design, revealing delightful cross-references between various periods and styles.
“I love to make singular bold gestures with my work, and the same applies to this installation,” Marcelis says. “I hope it offers a new way for visitors to experience the collection where designs of different eras, different designers from all over the world, produced in all kinds of techniques and in different materials can all be found alongside each other and the only thing binding them together is color.”
“I can’t wait for visitors to get immersed,” she adds.
But the show is more than just an ode to beautiful objects. It’s a look at the different ways designers have studied color. Included are notes the famed Verner Panton took while devising his color system and sketches from architect and designer Alexander Girard’s notebooks, as well as standardized color system charts such as the RAL, Munsell, and Pantone matching systems—all of which shape how we see color today.
Marcelis’s collaboration with the Vitra Campus is reflective of her trademark approach to design, which entails creating a sensorial experience in static objects by playing with light, color, and transparency. Her refined aesthetic has been applied to everything from lighting to sculptural art to plant installations. Keep an eye out for this dynamo because we have a feeling she’s only getting started. And if this is her moment, the Vitra Campus is always a good place to start.
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