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Rietveld's Universe

With an exhibition dedicated to the world in which Rietveld lived and worked, MAXXI pays tribute to the Dutch master's influence on the art and architecture of today.

Excerpt from a text written by Pippo Ciorra, Senior curator MAXXI Architecture

The first impression provided by Rietveld's Universe is one of rediscovery. It is presumed, in fact, that at least those of us "in the trade" have a clear idea of the breadth of his work, the importance and influence it had throughout the 20th century. However, for some strange reason, as soon as the eye strays from his work as a whole the horizon becomes blurred and the only images that remain clear are the inevitable Schröder House and an unforgettable series of furniture. This exhibition instead has the immediate merit of restoring to enthusiasts (and the general public) the breadth and depth of Rietveld's oeuvre and legacy. The exhibition sequence brings us into contact both with the complete series of his projects and his research and with the great and original energy that he put into tackling the great issues at the core of modernism.

Schroeder House, Utrecht 1924, photo F. Panzini 2011. Above: Schroeder House, Utrecht 1924, interiors, photo Hans Wilshut

The curators' desire to paint an accurate and comprehensive profile of the Utrecht master with this exhibition is also seen in the continuous parallels drawn between Rietveld and his leading contemporaries—Corbu, Mies, Wright and so on—with the evident conviction that this confrontation may provide the key to accessing the expressive and conceptual heart of his work. The exhibition also seems to provoke a great sense of displacement and temporal duplicity. It in fact speaks to us both of the roots of Modernism and the way in which we look at Modernism today, in a moment of acute crisis for "progress-ism". It is a strange sensation, like working on an area/text containing both archaeological traces and contemporary life and which needs to be tackled through the simultaneous actuation of knowledge and creativity. In this sense, the currency of Rietveld's non-formalised manifesto immediately comes to our aid: simplicity of elements, process vs. style, assembly vs. composition, recognisability of the original elements at the end of the assembly process.

Manassen House, 1961-63, Amersfoort, photo F. Panzini

What does this exhibition want to tell us? What can it add to the reading of "Rietveld's Universe" and what makes it necessary, apart from the natural urge of historians to continually re-examine the materials of history in general and the primary episodes of Modernism in particular? Let's try and identify some possible answers.

The currency of Rietveld's non-formalised manifesto immediately comes to our aid: simplicity of elements, process vs. style, assembly vs. composition, recognisability of the original elements at the end of the assembly process.

Rietveld himself provides the first: "my furniture attempts to avoid interrupting space". The phrase is a straight, confident arrow that flies true to its target: it contains everything of importance that we can learn from this exhibition and at the same time the profound, common and current sense of modernity. And it perfectly synthesizes the "Rietveld method" applied to architecture and the design of furniture and interiors, understood as a general and inseparable approach to the issues of space, society and technology.

Red and Blue G. Rietveld 1923, Central Museum Utrecht

The second response comes from the world of history and historiography. It is my impression that the 21st century is still waiting for a new approach to and a new reading of the saga of the modern and the vicissitudes of its masters. Together with other research and other curatorial projects about which news is beginning to circulate, "Rietveld's Universe" may therefore be one of the first bricks in a new reconstruction of the story of modern and contemporary architecture. Conversely, the way in which such a "historiographical" exhibition establishes its relationship with the present day also arouses considerable interest. Throughout the exhibition, the curators appear to display the utmost indifference to the issues of today. Then, suddenly, with the artist's Red Blue chair in the last room in Utrecht and the series of interviews with present day designers at MAXXI, they allow contemporary angst to burst noisily into the quiet organization of the display.

"Look at Rietveld", the curators seem to be saying, "and learn freely and anarchically from him". It would not in fact be the first time that the new generations of designers have found the answer to their thirst for the new—as compelling today as ever—by developing an original and independent reading of history. It happened at the beginning of Modernism, when both Corbu and Mies worked on personal translations of the classical spirit; it happened in Italy in the 1950s in a search for nonpreconceived answers to the questions of their time; it happened again in New York in the 1960s, when the Five proposed their rereading of European modern, not to speak of Postmodernism and the liasons dangereux between the rising stars of Deconstructivism exhibited at MoMA by Johnson and Wigley in 1988 and the historic avant gardes of the 20th century. [...]

14 April–10 July 2011
Universo Rietveld
curated by Maristella Casciato, Domitilla Dardi and Ida van Zijl
produced with the Central Museum of Utrecht and NAi Rotterdam
with the support of the Dutch Embassy in Rome
MAXXI, Rome

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Rietveld's Universe

With an exhibition dedicated to the world in which Rietveld lived and worked, MAXXI pays tribute to the Dutch master's influence on the art and architecture of today.

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