Hella Jongerius [Hardcover]

Louise Schouwenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Hella Jongerius combines traditional craft techniques with high-tech materials and manufacturing to produce objects that are strikingly new and provocative; her unique talent has created increasing "buzz" in the design world. Since 2000, she has exhibited her own work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, and the Museum of Art and Design in Helsinki, in addition to exhibitions with Droog Design in Frankfurt, Milan, and Jerusalem and several exhibitions in The Netherlands. Among Jongerius's designs are her "B-Set" dinnerware (1998), which consists of simple porcelain that is fired at ultra-hot temperatures so that it warps and the finish crackles; while the dishes are a series, no two pieces are alike. As Louise Shouwenberg has commented, "the result is not an anachronistically perfect dinner service; rather it is a wobbly pile of serially-produced one-offs: plates with a soul". Jongerius's "Soft Vases" (1994) and "Pushed Soft Washtub" (1996) are cast in seamed polyurethane; and her new line of textiles for Maharan (2002) references classic old patterns and incorporates the dot patterns from the punchcards used to make the fabric. One of most talked-about designs to emerge from JongeriusLab is a high-tech modern folding chair based on an antique Ugandan wood chair. These designs and others at first glance can look familiar and simple, but behind the simplicity is Jongerius's careful consideration of an object's history, heritage, and archetypes. This monograph on Jongerius presents a visual "catalogue" of her career in a cinematic graphic layout, consisting of photographs and interview text running continuously from the front cover through the book pages to the back cover. Two essays by Louise Schouwenberg are interspersed within the book, addressing themes relating to Jongerius's work. Photographs by Joke Robaard show the objects in context, in factories, shops, museums, and studios in various countries. The photography aims to show the social and historic dimensions of the objects and Jongerius's approach. Also included are photographs by Jongerius of her design process over the years.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'An insider's view to one of today's most exciting designers.'

About the Author

Hella Jongerius was born in De Meern, Holland, and studied at the Academy for Industrial Design at Eindhoven. Upon graduation in 1993 she began working with Droog Design, and in 2000 she founded her own design firm, JongeriusLab. In 2000 she was also named director of the Design Atelier at the design academy in Eindhoven. In her six years with Droog she produced, among other objects, a collection of polyurethane bathmats, inflatable textiles, soft vases, a folded washtub for DMD in The Hague, a collection of updated 14th-century shards called "7 Pots/3 Centuries/2 Materials" for the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, her "Kasese" chair, and porcelain objects for Donna Karan's home collection. She participated in many exhibitions with Droog Design around the world, including the 1995 exhibition "Mutant Materials in Contemporary Design" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, "Self Manufacturing Designers" (1996) at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, "5 Years Droog Design" at the Central Museum in Utrecht, "Do Normal" (1998) at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and annual shows in Milan. Working solo, Jongerius was included in the 2001 exhibition "Workspheres" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, with her entry "My Soft Office" and "Bed in Business"; and in an exhibition at the Dutch Textile Museum in Tilburg the same year. Jongerius has taught at the Domus Academy in Milan, the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, and the Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste in Karlsruhe and Hamburg. Louise Schouwenberg is a Dutch artist, writer, and publicist. She was trained as a sculptor at Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam, and Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht, and studied philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. She writes for the Dutch art magazine Metropolis M and is a contributing editor of Frame magazine. In addition, she is a tutor at the Design Academy in Eindhoven.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714843059
• ISBN-13: 978-0714843056
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,242,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book about an exceptional designer!!!, October 21, 2007

By 

Candace Livers "Candiegirly" (Kansas City, Mo.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hella Jongerius (Hardcover)

This is great book about Hella Jongerius. It has wonderful photography of many of her designs. I highly recommend it!