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 tickets* online
- See also:
21st-century Austrian design
(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 and innovation 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.
(Category PARTICIPATION, PPAG, Enzi, 2002, Furniture; press photo © Lisi Gradnitzer. The Enzis and successors have iconic status in Vienna on account of their use in the MuseumsQuartier courtyards in summer)
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.
As such, you might consider Aut Now a “best of” review of a quarter century of endeavour, featuring the full gamut of possibilities: from bowls 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.) Design operates within the Zeitgeist, the prevailing production, distribution & marketing environments, and the evolving needs of users and wider society.
(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)
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.
So the selection on view serves a double purpose. To invite appreciation and admiration. But also to demonstrate elements of modern design and modern design processes perhaps unfamiliar to the lay person.
I shall add details and highlights when I’ve had a chance to visit.
Dates, tickets & tips
Enjoy the best of 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.
Address: Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna