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I was invited to view the Verner Panton exhibition at National Museum last Saturday, with a group of design enthusiasts.  Despite being a museum junkie, the only museum tour I’ve gone on was in France (mainly because of how huge the Louvre is and how direction-blind I can be, I’ll probably take ages to find my way out.) I was rather skeptical about the tour itself since National Museum isn’t exactly “big” and how interesting can a curator’s tour be ? Oh boy, I was so wrong !

The group of 20 followed our curator (I’m sorry, didn’t quite catch her name)  into this large room of Danish delights,  I certainly made it sounds like some delicious snacks but no, welcome to a world full of color and futuristic style of 60s designs ! Verner Panton is known for his experimental designs and his wild usage of color that creates a 3D space/form. His designs encourage interaction between the user and the object, for example his “Phantasy Landscape” consists of various geometric shapes and textures. (You can even enter the area, hopefully you don’t have stinky feet because you gotta remove your shoes! *plastic feet wraps are provided*)

Phantasy Landscape

Even though I have taken alot of pictures, I shall not spoil the exhibition for those who wants to visit (you really should!). I thought the exhibition was well executed in the sense that the display was attractive and you feel almost like you’re in an IKEA showroom or Verner Panton’s villa itself. One thing that caught my attention was the interactive elements, such as the kiosks available at almost every other corner.

It was a great way to engage the crowd instead of getting them to read the usual boring descriptions you can find on the wall (of course you can still find those on the wall). In fact, there are many workshops and additional programmes that comes with the exhibition. For example, on the 27th June, Jonas Ericsson of STYLE:NORDIC will be conducting this workshop called “Keeping it Real: The Art of Collecting Furniture”.

My personal favourite would be the “Flying Chair” as you can see in the picture.

Verner Panton’s ideas are definitely beyond words (at his time,that is) and few designers can really capture the diversity of designs and contribute significantly to the history itself. I think this exhibition is indeed inspiring and a really fun experience for me. Although I have to say that I wish there’s a chance to really “feel” and touch the chairs, that’s probably gonna cost more than $6 admission fee ! HAHA (there’s discounts for NSF/Students/Senior Citizens/Family !)

Oh, one thing that really caught our eyes was this “how to undress in front of your husband” with the Panton Chair. (Raging Hormones? HAHA) It is a pictorial step-by-step how to guide…be sure not to miss it ! =)

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