Selection of exhibitions for spring 2017Selection of exhibitions for spring 2017

What determines a product's appeal, function and identity? Increasingly it is the finish that designers employ not only to beautify a product, but also to strengthen, preserve or disguise it. The last layer can simulate ageing, form an impenetrable shell or function as a convincing imitation of craftsmanship. The exhibition _Designing the Surface_ highlights the role of the all-decisive surface of products. In the exhibition, an iron fountain slowly melts under the corrosive influence of acid, while a seventeenth-century mother-of-pearl shell and the latest in paint finishes attest to our fascination with sheen.

Designing the Surface is the result of a partnership between product designer and recent Fellow of Het Nieuwe Instituut Chris Kabel, and graphic office Koehorst in 't Veld, who curated the exhibition _GLASS _in 2015.

Internet artist Rafaël Rozendaal sees anonymous screensaver programmers as unsung artists and provides a podium for the makers of this undervalued digital genre in an installation based on dozens of screensavers. The visitor to _Sleep Mode_ will step into an constantly changing landscape of abstract vistas.

All sorts of forms of appropriation, such as squatting, play an essential role in the development of the city and public space. In a period of renewed interest in a programmatic approach to the city, Het Nieuwe Instituut is conducting research into squatting as an architecture of appropriation. This exploration kicks off with an installation by design studio ZUS [Zones Urbaines Sensibles] in combination with a display of historical material.
_Architecture of Appropriation_ examines ideas such as vacancy, property, alternative living arrangements and housing policy.

The weekly Thursday Night programme of lectures and discussions provides an in-depth examination of a wide range of topical issues.

There is a DIY route through the exhibition Designing the Surface for young visitors and a series of Sunday workshops with instruction in painting, spraying and dipping techniques.

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Note for editors:
For more information or images please contact Yev Kravt via email: y.kravt@hetnieuweinstituut.nl or telephone on +31 (0)6 83 67 97 37.