For the first time in The Netherlands, the Kunsthal presents an overview of the broad, encompassing work of Rudolf Steiner(1861-1925). Steiner was one of the 20th century's most significant and influential reformers, and his legacy is as relevant today as ever.
Steiner served as a source of inspiration for some artistic giants including Piet Mondriaan, Wassily Kandinsky and Josef Beuys, and still does so for many contemporary artists and designers, such as Olafur Eliasson and Konstantin Grcic. The exhibition presents a rich and extensive collection of furniture, models and blackboard drawings, offering a fascinating insight into his life, work and sweeping intellectual legacy.
An attractive programme of activities focussing on nutrition, architecture, dance and social entrepreneurship, along with a Steiner-day and symposium, reveal Steiner's ideas in a modern light.
Innovative Ideas
In the late nineteenth century, Steiner presented his ideas as a universal way of life in which science, art and spirituality were one and the same thing. In Steiner’s vision, everything is connected; the planetary system influences the growth and development of nature and man’s well-being, and he felt that man should be aware of this. He developed the anthroposophical doctrine, which is based on man’s free progress through research, inner development and linking the earthly with the spiritual. Steiner used his artistic and philosophical views to improve everyday life in a practical fashion. Along with some strong criticism, Steiner’s innovative ideas attracted many followers. Over a century later, hundreds of Steiner free schools, health clinics, farms and financial institutions still follow his anthroposophical principles.
Intriguing Interplay
The Kunsthal exhibition places Steiner in the context of his day, a time when new art movements were appearing and scientific discoveries being made in rapid succession. It shows how Steiner, under these influences, developed and shared his ideas with the world. The exhibition also highlights Steiner’s intriguing interaction with famous contemporaries such as Franz Kafka, Piet Mondriaan, Wassily Kandinsky and Frank Lloyd Wright. ‘Alchemy of the Everyday’ also shows how Steiner developed an entirely new organic aesthetic in architecture and design. The furniture and buildings with their natural shapes that are so characteristic of Steiner’s work, exhibit a clear parallel with contemporary design by artists, designers and architects including Olafur Eliasson, Ronan & Ewan Bouroullec and the Rotterdam-based 24H Architecture.
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Partners
BankGiro Loterij
Culture connects, inspires, enriches and tells a story where we, Dutch citizens, come from. On the other hand culture is vulnerable and needs to be protected, so that we can enjoy its beauty together with the next generations.
Elise Mathilde Fonds
De doelstelling van het Elise Mathilde fonds is de ondersteuning van behoeftige personen en instellingen die een algemeen sociaal, cultureel of ideïl doel nastreven.
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds
www.cultuurfonds.nl
Weleda
De natuur, dat zijn wij. Soms zou je dat bijna vergeten. Hoe maakbaar wij en de wereld ook lijken te zijn, de natuur wint altijd. Zij weet wat we nodig hebben en brengt ons in balans. Hoe verder we van de natuur verwijderd raken, hoe verder we verwijderd raken van onszelf.
Vitra design museum
The Vitra Design Museum numbers among the world’s leading museums of design. It is dedicated to the research and presentation of design, past and present, and examines design’s relationship to architecture, art and everyday culture.
