Droog and the Rijksmuseum have again joined forces, having collaborated for the first time in October 2012 on the launch of Rijksstudio, the digital platform where 130,000 works of art from the collection can be viewed in high-resolution detail and ‘liked’.
Following a period of meticulous research, selection and study based on the Rijksmuseum collection, Droog have created a setting at the centre of the fascinating Sala dei Tessuti in via San Gregorio.
Rijksstudio m2: dressed with fantasy, a new environment for minimalism – How to re-interpret famous artworks in the way of living the domestic space ?
Rijksstudio m2 is a setting for a studio in which the richness of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum collection resonates in walls and ceilings, for a minimal but unique experience
“Seeing is knowing is making“ was a sentence which the American art historian Svetlana Alpers wrote once in her book “The Art of Describing: Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century“.
With this sentence she summarizes what Dutch creativity is all about, until today: The observing of the everyday surroundings, followed by the transforming of the resulting knowledge into something new.
The collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam display the results of this special way of working: Artworks which are inspired by the everyday life, like portraits, still life’s of food and objects, paintings about the dutch landscape or the work life of everyday people and present it next to everyday objects which illustrate the dutch history.
Like Dutch art, Dutch design also a long tradition in the reflection of the everyday.
From eighteenth century tapestries to famous Dutch landscapes from the 1700’s, the recently digitalised historic and artistic legacy of the Dutch museum comes to life on the walls and ceilings of the entrance, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and dining room of a hypothetical artist’s studio.
Even the minimal furnishings are based on the reconstruction and re-visitation of historic pieces, such as the small desk, bed, bathtub, mirror, bedside table and candelabra made from wood and leather.
The so-called DNA of the Rijksmuseum is based on the highlights of the collection and is used in a variety of different visual manifestations.
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Set up as small house, you walk through rooms where an 18th-century tapestry has been transformed into wallpaper and a film of 17th-century landscape paintings going from dawn to dusk can be seen through a ‘window’ – all the pieces reflect furniture as depicted in famous paintings.
Renowned graphic designer Irma Boom created wallpaper that complements the presentation using the colour palette she developed as part of the new house style for the re-opened and re-branded Rijksmuseum in 2013.
18th-century tapestry is transformed into wallpaper, a painting with birds and clouds is part of a reflective gradient wall in the bedroom and 17th-century landscape paintings are animated.
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The sober furniture in the space forms a sharp contrast with this elaborate treatment, but is just as much inspired by the Rijksmuseum collection.
The pieces reflect the furniture as depicted in homely settings in famous paintings.
A bath tub, a daybed, a writing desk, a mirror, a night stand, and a candle holder are all carefully executed in wood and leather in a new appearance.
Minimalism in a new environment dressed with fantasy !
irma boom for droog
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Additionally Droog presents new products, first on display in Milan last year, and now available for the public to buy – a range of new products inspired by the Rijksmuseum collection such as –
Glass series AA, which are inspired by five wine glasses made by Anonymous Artists. The makers of the 5 original historic glasses are unknown but admired by millions, as they are part of the collection of Rijksmuseum.
Pleated Collar napkin rings by deJongeKalff . – a napkin ring based on a linen ruff from 1615 made using 3D printing techniques
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For Table skin, DeJongeKaff created a white silicone cast of the elegant geometric “embroidery example with rectangular shield” carved in wood between 1507 – 1521 by Albrecht Dürer.
The inverse engraving is a table cloth much like classical white damast table linnen but durable, waterproof and easy to clean.
The New Original series, inspired by iconic Chinese products, such as lampion lights and Tea for one and two teapots by Richard Hutten and the team of Droog Studio.
exit the gift shop at the Droog Rijksmuseum Milan exhibition
About Droog
Droog = dry in Dutch.
Such an irony… because the Droog universe overflows with creativity, is drenched in coolness and just drips ‘awe’ all over the place.
Co-founded and directed by curator and author Renny Ramakers, Droog creates products, projects and events around the world in collaboration with designers, clients and partners.
Droog has offices in Amsterdam and New York, stores in Amsterdam and Las Vegas, and retail partners worldwide.
Droog pioneers new directions, new collaborations, creative tools and models for design, business and consumer culture. Driven by its unique perspective, Droog offers a selection of accessories, lighting, furniture and studio work that change your experience of daily life.
After 21 years of experimental and conceptual design, Droog definitely seem to be on the path of professional maturity: from collective to studio, from research to client commissions – whether they be cultural institutes or otherwise, as their work with Heineken proves – to the opening in 2012 of Hotel Droog in Amsterdam.
Renny Ramakers, who in 2009 was left solo to lead the transformation, this year confirms their pragmatic approach.
Rijksmuseum Update
The Rijksmuseum recently re-opened on 13 April.
The Rijksmuseum’s world-famous collection is being presented in an entirely new way. For the very first time, visitors can make a journey through time and experience a sense of beauty and of time.
In 80 galleries, 8,000 objects tell the story of 800 years of Dutch art and history.
Only Rembrandt’s masterpiece The Night Watch will be returning to its original position.
