konstantin grcic's 'new normals' exhibition at haus am waldsee in berlin

haus am waldsee PRESENTS konstantin grcic’s ‘new normals’

konstantin grcic combines his own designs with everyday objects for a new solo exhibition at haus am waldsee in berlin. opening in january 2022, the ‘new normals’ exhibition uses design to explore possible future realities, both utopian and dystopian.

to explain the concept behind ‘new normals’, haus am waldsee talks about a smartphone on a desk, which seems ubiquitous today but would have been cutting-edge and even futuristic in the 1990s or earlier.‘in this way, our respective new realities are repeatedly changed by the objects as well as the behaviors attached to them, and our lives are constantly transformed by their use and their increasing everyday nature,’ explains haus am waldsee.

konstantin grcic, new normals (detail), 2021, image by florian böhm

the future cannot be known, but it can be designed

for this exhibition, grcic channels his future-oriented design approach to create fragments of potential future living and working environments, allowing visitors to use their own imaginations to fill in the blanks of these speculative new worlds.

as well as exploring how we might live and work in the future, ‘new normals’ reflects on the present and the role that the design of our everyday life plays in it. going back to that smartphone on the desk, our realities would look a lot different without those designers. with his forward-looking designs — such as the aluminum lattice ‘chair one‘ — grcic is a designer that’s always been thinking of the future. as haus am waldsee says, ‘his designs not only take on a new form, but also point to other, possible, new worlds in which these objects could unfold their potential. grcic‘s designs thus shift our perspective from the existing to the coming.’

konstantin grcic, normal 3 (detail), 2022, stool-tool chair (vitra), radio and tv antennae, image by florian böhm

‘new normals’ is curated by ludwig engel, anna himmelsbach and konstantin grcic. the exhibition is on view at haus am waldsee in berlin, germany, from january 21 to may 8, 2022. an exhibition catalogue will be published by verlag der buchhandlung walther könig, including an interview between the two curators and konstantin grcic, with photographs by florian böhm.

haus am waldsee presents ‘new normals’ as part of a series that’s included ‘full house – designers in berlin’ (2007), werner aisslinger (2013), haus-rucker-co (2015), stefanie hering (2015/16), and most recently barkow leibinger (2020).

konstantin grcic, normal 3, 2022, stool-tool chair (vitra), radio and tv antennae,image by florian böhm

installation view konstantin grcic – new normals, haus am waldsee, 2022, image by florian böhm

konstantin grcic, normal 12 (detail), 2022, traffic chaiselongue (magis), smartphone and tablet holders, aluminium sticks, image by florian böhm

exhibition info:

name: konstantin grcic – new normals

curated by: ludwig engel, anna himmelsbach und konstantin grcic

venue: haus am waldsee, berlin, germany

dates: january 21 to may 8, 2022

1/4

konstantin grcic, normal 11 (detail), 2022, miura table table (plank), myto chair (plank), aluminium cross-beam system, pantographs, image by florian böhm