On the Shelves
Date: 2005
Commissioned by: Villa Noailles, Hyeres (FR)
Type: Exhibition
In 1926 Charles Noailles commissioned Robert Mallet-Stevens to build the Villa Noailles as the Noailles’ family residence.
Mallet-Stevens worked regularly with artists and designers. Thus, the furniture in the villa was by Theo van Doesburg and Sybold van Ravensteyn, among others. In the 1930’s artists such as Man Ray, Alberto Giacometti, Luis Bunel, and Jean Cocteau worked in and around the villa. After years of standing unoccupied and dilapidating between 1947 and 1970, the ministry of culture decided in the late 70’s to list the villa as a national monument and restore it. These days there are exhibitions of photography, design, and architecture, and the celebrated ‘festival de mode et photo’ takes place here.
The exhibition by Hella Jongerius shows a selection from her oeuvre and recent work such as ‘Nymphenburg sketches’ (2004), prototypes of the pouf ‘Bovist’ (2005) for Vitra, and the most recent project ‘Sew me’ (2005) for which Jongerius asked Ontwerpbureau Vier to reproduce 14 products from her oeuvre in fabric.
The ‘Cut & Paste blankets’ (2005) were made especially for this exhibition. The wool blankets with needle punch appliqué are hung from tripods, using large metal pegs. Jongerius’ own work serves as the point of departure for the decoration. Villa Noailles has commissioned Theo van den Aker to make a film about the working method of Hella Jongerius. The film illuminates a number of projects including the Non Temporary project, which she designed for Koninklijke Tichelaar in early 2005. The film lasts approx. 20 min. and is shown continuously for the duration of the exhibition.