Out now: VernissageTV PDF-magazine No. 18, July 2011.

VernissageTV’s PDF Magazin No. 18 has its focus on the two major art events this year, the 54th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, and Art 42 Basel. Highlights of No. 18 are a personal look at five days in Venice by Miami-based artist duo Guerra de la Paz, and exclusive video and audio downloads for the readers of this issue. Then there are photo galleries showing Elmgreen & Dragset’s exhibition at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen’s Submarine Wharf in Rotterdam, and Ai Weiwei’s solo show Art / Architecture at Kunsthaus Bregenz. For design lovers, there’s a report on Matti Suuronen’s Futuro, House of the Future of the 1960s.

Artists in this issue: Ai Weiwei, Matti Suuronen, Elmgreen & Dragset, and Guerra de la Paz.

Click image or this link to download the magazine (20 MB) or hit the jump to view in Issuu Reader.
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In 2007, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam / Netherlands came into possession of the prototype of a quite spectacular piece of architecture: Finnish architect Matti Suuronen’s Futuro: house of the future.

With its distinctive flying saucer like shape Suuronen’s Futuro is an icon of 1960s design. In 1965 Matti Suuronen was commissioined to design a mobile holiday home that could be erected in poorly accessible skiing areas. The Futuro is made from polyester, measures about 3 x 8 meters, and was conceived for serial production. In part due to the oil crisis of 1973 the production was halted prematurely, but there are still a dozens of Futuros spread across the world.

The Futuro is now on display for the first time after its restoration at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen as centerpiece of the exhibition Futuro – Constructing Utopia, which also presents twenty prints and approximately a hundred design objects from the museum’s collection.

On the occasion of the opening of the exhibition Futuro – Constructing Utopia at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen VernissageTV met up with Jonieke van Es. She is Head of Collections & Research at the museum and tells us more about the history and concept of the Futuro, how the prototype came into possession of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and how it was restored, the Futuro’s relevance as a design icon, and its future use at the museum.

PS: Another Futuro is being restored currently at the University of Canberra.

> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.

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