(smow)offline. Verner Panton exhibition in Singapore

“Most people spend their lives living in dreary, beige conformity, mortally afraid of using colours. The main purpose of my work is to provoke people into using their imagination and make their surroundings more exciting.”

Verner Panton

Amoebe highback by Verner Panton for Vitra

No one who knows the work of Verner Panton could or would argue that his work successfully achieved it’s purpose. But for all his interior design projects, such as the canteen at the Spiegel headquarters in Hamburg emphasis exactly what Panton always hoped to achieve with his designs.

From May 15th until July 12 2009 the National Museum of Singapore is hosting the Vitra Design Museum exhibition Verner Panton : Collected Works.

In addition to highlighting Panton’s major works in the areas of furniture, lighting and textile design, the exhibition also presents some of his now legendary interior design projects.

Visiona 2 by Verner Panton

We were lucky enough to see the exhibition a couple of years ago at the AXA Gallery in New York and can confirm that it is a truly wonderful event for all devotees of brave, original design. We can also confirm Vitra’s claim that the partial reconstruction of the “Fantasy Landscape” room from “Visiona 2” is a particular highlight of the exhibition.

Outrageously addictive.

For those stopping off in Singapore en route to Australia/New Zealand this summer the exhibition is well worth a visit.
And for those of you who like us are unlikely to be in Singapore this summer there is always the hope that Vitra bring the exhibition back to Europe soon.