Domaine de Boisbuchet, a country estate in the Southwest of France that is renowned as an international site of experimentation in design and architecture, presents Moving Meshes, an exhibition of the work of the Dutch designer Maria Blaisse. The exhibition is being presented in collaboration with Parsons The New School for Design. The exhibit is on view through September 22, 2012.
Maria Blaisse works at the forefront of research, education and design of textiles and flexible materials. Engaging art and design practice, Blaisse’s career mixes performance, fashion and architecture, including collaborations with contemporaries such as fashion designer Issey Miyake and choreographer Michael Schumacher. This exhibition, which includes five delicate bamboo works and a video projection, lies at the intersection of design and movement. As a narrative,Moving Meshes leads the viewer through a sculptural experience exploring the body as a critical element in the animation of material and form.
Through a fellowship program, Parsons students Oscar Trujillo Amezquita, Laura Jane Kenny, Elizabeth Parker and Santiago Peraza assisted exhibition designer Mikaël Baillairgé in the design and installation of the exhibition, which opens the 2012 season at Boisbuchet. Set within 300 square meters of space in the Boisbuchet chateau, Parsons students worked with the exhibition team to install objects, images, text, sound and video; construct, paint and arrange backdrops for display; and create way-finding maps.
The fellowship program was developed by Parsons in collaboration with the Centre International de Recherche et d’Éducation Culturelle et Agricole (CIRECA), the organization that oversees cultural activities at Boisbuchet, which is headed by Alexander von Vegesack, co-founding director of the Vitra Design Museum. It is in its second year—in 2011, students helped design an exhibition of Japanese household objects entitled Naked Shapes.
The collaboration between CIRECA and Parsons was initiated by Bridget O’Rourke, director of Parsons Europe, and Alexander von Vegesack. Parsons Europe is a network of academic initiatives, exhibitions, cultural and industry partnerships, government and NGO-supported projects throughout Europe.
