Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 - Today

Published by the Vitra Design Museum, Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 - Today explores the discourse between design and surrealism, one of the most influencing art movements of the 20th century. Surrealism has expanded our artistic and everyday reality as well as inspired design, fashion and advertising. Furthermore, the movement has been influencing interior design and objects for over a hundred years, encouraging designers to question familiar routines and patterns. The book combines a rich selection of images, compelling essays and reflections by artists and designers.

Surrealism was one of the most influential art movements of the twentieth century. This book examines the dialogue between Surrealism and design and, for the first time, reveals the enormous influence the movement has had on design over the last hundred years. It has encouraged designers to question the reality beyond what is visible and to design objects that offer resistance, undermine routine, and disrupt the quotidian. The spectrum of examples ranges from Duchamp’s ready-mades and Dalí’s sensual object sculptures to works by designers like Carlo Mollino or Gae Aulenti and includes current designs that analyse new technologies or gender roles in subversive ways. Evidently, Surrealism has lost none of its relevance – for art as well as for design.

Founded in 1989 at Weil am Rhein, Germany, the Vitra Design Museum is one of the leading design museums in the world. Besides organizing exhibitions, the Vitra Design Museum is dedicated to the research and publications on design and its relations to architecture, art and culture. Over the years, Vitra Design Museum has presented large retrospectives on designers such as Charles & Ray Eames, Alexander Girard and Alvar Aalto, and expanded with new buildings – the Vitra Design Museum Gallery was opened in 2011, and the Vitra Schaudepot by Herzog & de Meuron in 2016.