Design Commissions
Goda Budvytytė designed the graphic identity for the exhibition Art on Display 1949-69 (2020).
Art on Display 1949-69
Art on Display 1949-69 brings together exhibition designs by the architects Carlo Scarpa, Franco Albini and Franca Helg, Lina Bo Bardi, Aldo van Eyck, and Alison and Peter Smithson. Whenever she gets the chance on her travels, Goda Budvytytė visits a museum, shop or garden designed by Carlo Scarpa or Franco Albini. So she reacted enthusiastically when invited to design this project's graphic identity. "I am fascinated by the Italian architect Scarpa's attention to detail, choice of material and colour," she says. "His exhibition designs provide a framework that choreographs the light and the viewer's gaze to approach the work of art in different ways. Some of the Art on Display exhibits have long been inspirational for me, because they represent a fabulous symbiosis between the institution and designer."
When asked about the ideas behind her design, Budvytytė explains: "I wanted the graphic element to act as a display, in response to the legacies of various architectural practices in the exhibition, not least the exhibition architecture. To present the exhibition texts, I designed a 'framework': a three-dimensional structure that I translated into a two-dimensional form to communicate the exhibition. In this case, it felt natural to devise a graphic language that refers to the physical space." All parts of the exhibition had to coincide in the right way to reinforce the exhibition's thesis. "Simplicity and integrity were vital - like snug pockets on well-made trousers. Therefore, I paid particular attention to clarity and legibility when choosing the typography."
Budvytytė devotes much thought to the tactile qualities of her designs. "You can read so much through your fingertips," she says. "The choice of materials was an intensive process, and perhaps more complicated than the results would suggest. At first, I wanted to work exclusively with paper - the graphic designer's basic material, which is also recyclable. Ultimately, we used sheet aluminium, which lends itself better to an exhibition's duration and robustness. I hope that the synthesis of the different materials and visual elements forms a fertile and accessible basis for familiarising visitors with the subject."
Most museum visitors immediately focus their attention on the artwork itself, unaware that the encounter with art has been carefully staged by a designer. In contrast, _Art on Display 1949-69_ focuses less on the artworks themselves, and more on the way they are presented. The exhibition brings together some of the most progressive post-war exhibition designs by architects in the form of 1:1 reconstructions: a unique opportunity to experience and compare these radical architectural approaches in person.
Goda Budvytytė
Goda Budvytytė explores how different content types, related to a changing constellation of formats, can be translated into books, graphic identities, exhibitions, exhibition designs and other readable encounters. Recent clients include Tai Kwun Contemporary, ETH Zürich, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Het Nieuwe Instituut, MIT, the Pompidou Centre, NTU Center for Contemporary Art Singapore, and Kunstenfestivaldesarts. She has collaborated with artists Tarek Atoui, Maaike Schoorel and Jessica Warboys. In 2019, she designed the graphic identity of the Lithuanian pavilion (the Golden Lion winner) at the Venice Biennale. She founded studio laumes with artist Viktorija Rybakova, with whom she recently published the book El Plástico. The Sun That Lives Inside the Rock (Bom Dia books).