Designer Christian Herren has curated an installation featuring over 200 rediscovered Swiss experimental films during NYCxDesign.
Titled Frame in Frame – Swiss Design in Motion, the installation is presented by the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York and aims to translate the films’ “rhythmic, rule-based logic” into an immersive spatial installation that creates a dialogue between design and film.
The Frame in Frame installation was created for NYCxDesign
The recently digitised films explore principles associated with Swiss graphic design, including modularity, typography and grid systems developed at the Basel School of Design between the 1960s and 1990s.
The wider exhibition features furniture and lighting by Swiss designers, including modular seating by Panter&Tourron alongside shelving structures by Ben Ganz, ZHdK and Lehni, which double as projection surfaces for the films.
It was curated by Christian Herren
Artist Daan Couzijn created the film sequences to interact with the surrounding Swiss furniture and lighting, combining moving image and objects into a single spatial installation.
The exhibition also features a sofa by Vitra, a bar by USM, a lamp by Susi and Ueli Berger and a carpet by Trix and Robert Haussmann.
It features a reconfigured sculptural projection structure by Designer Ben Ganz
Throughout the week, the Consulate General of Switzerland will host walkthroughs of the exhibition featuring designers Stefano Panterotto, Alexis Tourron, Ben Ganz and representatives from ZHdK.
The programme also includes a panel discussion titled Bringing Archives into the Present: Where We Come From, Where We Are, Where We’re Going, moderated by creative director and editor Ruba Abu Nimah.
Christian Herren is an interdisciplinary curator whose work spans exhibitions, creative direction and book production.
Find out more about Frame in Frame on its website.
The photography is by Matthew Gordon.
Frame in Frame – Swiss Design in Motion is on show until 20 May at the WSA 180 building in Manhattan. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Partnership content
This video was produced by Dezeen as part of a partnership with the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
Project credits:
Concept and curation: Christian Herren
Scenographical concept: Panter&Tourron, Ben Ganz
Featured brands: Vitra, USM Modular Furniture, Ruckstuhl, Lehni, WB Form
Featured designers: Ben Ganz, Panter&Tourron, Max Bill, Trix and Robert Haussmann, Susi and Ueli Berger.
Multi-channel video and audio installation: Daan Couzijn
Visual identity: Julia Schäfer, Lau Huaranga, Furqan Jawed (Volume)
Renderings: Alex Nguyen Space: WSA
Film archive and conservation: Memoriav, Media Library Basel-Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW Institutional Partners: Swissnex, Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK, Institute of Digital Communication Environments – Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW
Presented by: Consulate General of Switzerland in New York