Pattern Games Ornamental Design Approaches from July 6, 2004, Depot   Silk foular "lady bird", Cornelis Hesse-Honegger for Fabric Frontline, 1989

Ornament, pattern, decoration: blessing or burden? The eve r- contemporary debate over the pros and cons of the ornamental forms the core of this exhibition, the first show in the new joint work and exhibition space of the Graphic and Design Collections, at Förrlibuckstrasse 62, located in the former industrial area of Zurich West. The theme of the exhibition yields unexpected connections between very diverse examples selected from the Collections' holdings: how does the embroidery on engagement cards communicate with patterns on industrial packaging? When do pattern scenes lose their innocence? How do ornaments come into being without ornaments? Answers to these and other questions are being suggested through the sometimes unlikely juxtaposition of objects, with associative connections that expand our understanding of design itself. «Pattern Games» liberates the discussion on ornament from strictly defined historical classification, and in so doing, allows the objects to be experienced in new ways. The unprejudiced contrasts between the popular, the experimental and the kitsch types of design are a hallmark of both the Graphic and the Design Collections: the formal, aesthetic interest in design is balanced by an understanding of its cultural, commercial and technological contexts.

Project manager: Norbert Wild
invitation card and event: pdf