Exhibtions at MUDE

MUDE is Lisbon's Museum of Modern Design and it is housed in an old bank. Nothing has been rendered inside so it's all exposed brickwork and interesting ceilings. It is an incredible space to be in and with free entry, it is definitely worth a visit!

On the ground floor there is the permanent exhibition Unique and Multiple: Two Centuries of Design. This is a fantastic display aided by music of the time, and with a better head of knowledge after my year of contextual studies I found this a real joy to walk around. Lots of information and debates upon the boards. One that specifically took my eye was that of the design company Droog. I was already aware of them as a company but found the words written about them very fitting for my current head space: 

Droog debate the idea of luxury...cross-contaminating the borders between art and design. Developing new materials; flexible ceramics, electro-luminescent fabrics, metallic foam, elastic fibres, plastics that conduct electricity and emit light, synthetic polymers, alloys that memorise shapes...

There was also some text about Antwerp and it's links between art and fashion. I'm really keen to visit! The MHKA looks good and with Belgian beer and jazz to while away the evenings - what could be better!?

it's dynamic, young creativity and cohabiting of opposing styles and languages, together with Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Paris and New York...

This opens up a whole new dialogue for me, that of cross cultural appreciation and exploration. This is one that deserves a lengthy post of its own, but for now, a mixing of music, style, food and culture...this is what spins and excites me! To know that there is a whole world out there free to wander and discover! I am in love with adventure and the discoveries that this enables, both of self, the mind and in its ultimate avenue of creativity! Yes yes!

Quite apt then that on the first floor of MUDE there was an exhibition called Tell me what you like...and I'll tell you who you are This was based around fashion designers and their interests and inspirations that have defined their work. Interesting also that this had been inspired by the musings of Proust, whom I had bought a book on only last week! There was a Modern Classics exhibition also on the second floor and on the third, a collection called Treasures of Feira da Ladra – The beauty of anonymous design. This was brilliant! As its title suggests, this was a collection of seemingly anonymous objects that had all been picked up from junk markets - ahhh the most favourite of pastimes! There were then categories relating to man's basic actions: HIT// GRIP// TEST// SHIELD// SPREAD// RUB// MOULD// HOLD// CUT// The objects were assigned to and arranged within these categories and when they were displayed as a collective they sang as a beautifully considered assemblage. A new lease of life had been given to the objects and with the description of each action being written in both Portuguese and English I found this interesting when looking at the collective projects too. The combination of language, use, object and material, it all made for a very interesting space to contemplate.

HIT//

GRIP//

TEST//

SHIELD//

SPREAD//

RUB//

MOULD//

HOLD//

CUT//

I appreciated these words of the Goncourt Journal (1881) on entering the space too: 

The real connoisseurs in art are those who make people accept as beautiful, something everybody used to consider ugly, by revealing and resuscitating the beauty in it. Those are the only true connoisseurs, the rest are the blind slaves of the prevailing fashion

After this you move up to the fourth and final floor, which is a temporary show space. The current exhibition was showcasing the work of graphic designer Manuel Estrada. The exhibition: Where Ideas are Born. Juggler´s Sketchbooks. was beyond brilliant! Continuing with my passion for sketchbook journey and discovery, this was a whole exhibition dedicated to the art of the sketchbook as part of the creative process! Wowowow! I'm going to continue with a separate post for this because it deserves it for overall appreciation. So in closing of this one, GO VISIT MUDE - IT'S BRILLAINT! X