The Surface Decoration Ball

Top artists

Design Museum Den Bosch has an international collection of artist ceramics, almost entirely made in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In this exhibition the museum displays some of its most beautiful and important objects. Think of leading works by top international artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Raoul Dufy, Lucio Fontana, Keith Haring, Joan Miró and Cindy Sherman. But also Dutch highlights, by Bas van Beek, Corneille, Kees van Dongen, Guido Geelen, Hella Jongerius, Geert Lap, Lucebert and Etie van Rees.

Grayson Perry

One of those highlights is without a doubt the vase But What Am I Supposed To Wear To The Surface Decoration Ball! by British artist Grayson Perry, who acquired the museum in 2016. We used the title of the vase for this exhibition, which also served as a guideline for the choice of more than a hundred ceramic objects. With superior irony, Perry points in that one sentence to an ever-emerging issue in the world of contemporary art and design: what is the meaning of decoration? This issue also concerns, not least, artist ceramics and the work of Grayson Perry himself. Decoration and ornamentation are seen in our culture as superfluous, sometimes as downright superficial or as a sign of bad taste. With his grotesque vase, Perry makes a nod to the deadly serious discussion about decoration in the world of art.

Quotes

This time no art historical analyzes or cultural location determinations of the works shown in this exhibition. We let the designers and artists themselves have their say, with quotes that make us think about art and design. And about ceramics and decoration of course.