Austria has history when it comes to design. Contemporary achievements, however, need not stay in the shadows of historical greats. As the Aut Now exhibition demonstrates.
- 100 designers with an object each
- Spread across 25 categories
- All items designed this century
- Beauty, functionality, innovation & more
- Runs Sept 18, 2024 – May 18, 2025
- Book MAK entrance tickets*
- See also:
21st-century Austrian design
(From the exhibition category SUBTLE: bonpart, Ast [Branch], 2018, bottle opener, DANIEL édition; press photo © Étienne Delorme)
Historical designers like Hoffmann and Wagner have slipped across the Austrian border aboard a sleek, elegant but practical vehicle to achieve international recognition.
But contemporary design in Austria need not look back in jealous nostalgia given it continues the tradition of excellence established in the past.
The Aut Now exhibition demonstrates the point, paying tribute to local product design across the 21st century. It presents 25 thematic categories with four representative items within each.
So we discover, for example, designs that offer a surprising new take on an everyday object. Or products making novel use of materials. Or those giving agency back to the user.
The 100 items on display reflect the wide diversity, creativity and innovation existing within the Austrian design community. Not just in the objects selected, but also in the processes, people and organisations behind them.
(Exhibition view; press photo © kunst-dokumentation.com/MAK)
As such, you might consider Aut Now a representative review of a quarter century of endeavour, featuring a wide gamut of possibilities: from bags to bicycles and canes to coat hangers.
Of course, the definition of outstanding design changes with time. (I assume Wagner and Hoffmann gave little thought to carbon footprints.)
Form and function are no longer the be all and end all. Design operates within the Zeitgeist, the prevailing production, distribution & marketing environments, and the evolving needs of users and wider society: sustainability, accessibility, etc.
Not to mention that good design demands a certain je ne sais quoi that brings a smile, gasp or nod of appreciation from users and observers.
(From the exhibition category MATERIAL OPPORTUNITIES, Juliane Fink, Dog Bowls To Go, 2020, Bowl, Juliane Fink with the support of the Agriculture and Forestry School in Hatzendorf; press photo © Paul Schütz)
So the selection on view serves a double purpose.
It invites appreciation and admiration.
And it also demonstrates elements of modern design and modern design processes perhaps unfamiliar to the lay person; a short explanatory text in German and English accompanies each item, so you understand the purpose and design context.
As I wandered around, I kept finding myself uttering little “hahs!” of admiration or respect. Whether at cutlery made from food waste, a self-standing candle or an easy-to-assemble cardboard cradle. At measuring jugs designed for those with visual impairments or glasses that double as wireless headphones.
Among the diverse range of applications and underlying principles, the remarkable redesigns and improvements to everyday items touched me most. Particularly a gorgeous ash wood ladder that felt like a bentwood coffee house chair reimagined for climbing. Be still my beating neo-Viennese heart.
Dates, tickets & tips
Enjoy 25 years of Austrian design from September 18th, 2024 to May 18th, 2025. An entrance ticket for or from the MAK includes the Aut Now exhibition.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
The MAK has several exhibitions on at any one time. For example, the Iconic Auböck exhibition that runs for much of the same time as Aut Now showcases designs across the decades from one of Vienna’s leading design workshops.
And since design is a cornerstone of the museum’s raison d’être, make sure to take a look at the permanent displays, too, most notable the Design Lab section.
How to get to the objects
Just follow the travel tips at the bottom of the main MAK article. The exhibition occupies a room on your right as you enter the main atrium.
Address: Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna