Eoos
28 Jan - 17 May 2015
EOOS
28 January – 17 May 2015
Curator: Thomas Geisler, Curator, MAK Design Collection
With EOOS, the MAK mounts the first solo exhibition of the eponymous design studio’s product and interior designs and gives insight into its multi-faceted design practice. The MAK DESIGN LAB, a recent EOOS design project, is both showcase and exhibition and provides the context for this retrospective show laid out in the form of a narrative “parcourse” of exhibits. The focus is on the poetic-analytical creative process of studio founders Martin Bergmann (b. 1963, Lienz/East Tyrol), Gernot Bohmann (b. 1968, Krieglach/Steiermark), and Harald Gruendl (b. 1967, Vienna) and the decidedly reduced design language they developed as a team, which moves between the archaic and high-tech and promotes responsible and sustainable consumption.
The designer trio met through their studies at the MAK’s neighbor, today’s University of Applied Arts in the late 1980s. Through their interest in other artistic disciplines and philosophical discourse, as well as in the latest technologies, the three complement each other intellectually. With its “Poetic Analysis” approach, EOOS has developed a unique methodology to guide the collective design process. Intuitive images, archaic or quotidian rituals, and mythological stories provide points of departure and reference. An experimental mindset, research orientation, craftsmanship know-how, and attention to technical and aesthetic details engender EOOS’s trenchant quality. Also remarkable is the number of patents held by the studio for technical developments and innovative product solutions.
More than 130 design prizes—among them the prestigious design “Oscar,” the Compasso d’Oro—substantiate the professional recognition enjoyed by the successful design studio. Located in Vienna since 1995, EOOS has won a global clientele. In coming up with their designs—whether for products, furniture, or interiors—the designers are actively engaged with their project partners and affiliated clients. Customers like Alessi, Armani, adidas, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bulthaup, Dedon, Duravit, Hussl, Lamy, MatteoGrassi, Herman Miller, Keilhauer, Walter Knoll, and Zumtobel value the brand-focused collaboration and the designs dispensing with stylistic allure.
“EOOS” not only refers to one of the mythical cart horses hitched to the sun chariot in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but names a design forge as a driving force in contemporary Austrian and international design. By exclusively staging the EOOS-developed installation EOOS transforms in the room normally dedicated to the works of Josef Hoffmann, the MAK underscores the importance of this current generation of designers as guides to a Digital Modernity and honors the outstanding achievements of this studio in its twenty-year history.
28 January – 17 May 2015
Curator: Thomas Geisler, Curator, MAK Design Collection
With EOOS, the MAK mounts the first solo exhibition of the eponymous design studio’s product and interior designs and gives insight into its multi-faceted design practice. The MAK DESIGN LAB, a recent EOOS design project, is both showcase and exhibition and provides the context for this retrospective show laid out in the form of a narrative “parcourse” of exhibits. The focus is on the poetic-analytical creative process of studio founders Martin Bergmann (b. 1963, Lienz/East Tyrol), Gernot Bohmann (b. 1968, Krieglach/Steiermark), and Harald Gruendl (b. 1967, Vienna) and the decidedly reduced design language they developed as a team, which moves between the archaic and high-tech and promotes responsible and sustainable consumption.
The designer trio met through their studies at the MAK’s neighbor, today’s University of Applied Arts in the late 1980s. Through their interest in other artistic disciplines and philosophical discourse, as well as in the latest technologies, the three complement each other intellectually. With its “Poetic Analysis” approach, EOOS has developed a unique methodology to guide the collective design process. Intuitive images, archaic or quotidian rituals, and mythological stories provide points of departure and reference. An experimental mindset, research orientation, craftsmanship know-how, and attention to technical and aesthetic details engender EOOS’s trenchant quality. Also remarkable is the number of patents held by the studio for technical developments and innovative product solutions.
More than 130 design prizes—among them the prestigious design “Oscar,” the Compasso d’Oro—substantiate the professional recognition enjoyed by the successful design studio. Located in Vienna since 1995, EOOS has won a global clientele. In coming up with their designs—whether for products, furniture, or interiors—the designers are actively engaged with their project partners and affiliated clients. Customers like Alessi, Armani, adidas, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bulthaup, Dedon, Duravit, Hussl, Lamy, MatteoGrassi, Herman Miller, Keilhauer, Walter Knoll, and Zumtobel value the brand-focused collaboration and the designs dispensing with stylistic allure.
“EOOS” not only refers to one of the mythical cart horses hitched to the sun chariot in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but names a design forge as a driving force in contemporary Austrian and international design. By exclusively staging the EOOS-developed installation EOOS transforms in the room normally dedicated to the works of Josef Hoffmann, the MAK underscores the importance of this current generation of designers as guides to a Digital Modernity and honors the outstanding achievements of this studio in its twenty-year history.