Pracht und Prinzip Exhibit by Bas van Beek at DDW2016

In the art world it has long been the status quo that plain white walls are the best way to accentuate artwork on display. But designer Bas van Beek challenges that notion, blurring the lines between art, walls and industries with “Pracht und Prinzip” (Splendor and Principle). It’s an exhibit which he crafted and curated for Dutch Design Week 2016. Through clever use of wallpaper designs textiles and accessories, Bas diverges from the sterile minimalism often associated with museums and galleries.

A known breaker of conventions, the designer fuses two disparate schools of design through a wide array of elements. From clothing to carpets, furniture and textiles the exhibit unifies multiple disciplines through a consistent thread of coherent design principles. Bas deftly leverages the impressive collection of items from the museum’s archives, many of them dating back a century, but no less relevant or modern looking by today’s standards. Discussing his research into this project van Beek explains his unique approach:

“Although a great deal of important work has been digitalized and made accessible nowadays, many archives are a goldmine. a great deal of undiscovered knowledge has been stored away which cannot be found on the internet, including designs which were never executed. I see whether a design can be executed with contemporary methods and adapt it — if necessary — or interpret it in my own way.”

Perhaps the most striking element of this show is what we’ve initially hinted at - the use of vibrant and striking wallpaper patterns which are so cleverly juxtaposed that they do not fight with any of the elements in the foreground, but enhance them. There’s a cohesive, harmonious sense of belonging here, a fact that was not lost on Charles Esche, director of the Van Abbe Museum:

“The use of wallpaper as a background for modern art is a way of breaking through the principle of the white cube. In this way, you can also start to see the artworks in another way; they are no longer isolated, autonomous creations, but there is a single visual experience in which different links are forged.”

Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum Image courtesy of Peter Cox, Eindhoven - Van Abbemuseum