Pioneers

Pioneers: William Morris and the Bauhaus: Appointed by the William Morris Gallery, this exhibition explores the relationship between the English Arts and Craft movement and the Bauhaus, the exhibition was times to coincide with the centenary of the founding of the Bauhaus in 1919, bringing together over 60 objects from nine international and domestic lenders.

Following a creative competition, Simon was appointed to design the exhibition and layout of the project with graphic designer Lai Couto. The concept looked at how to link the two distinct design styles together by focusing on the grid lines used to create and construct Morris’ patterns. The same grid line are also used for the more Bauhaus inspired patterns and form the bases of all design approaches.

The grid pattern was printed onto the walls and formed the guidline for the whole exhibition. Sometimes the grid opens up to create spaces that can fit artefacts on the walls, or graphic panels/labels. Sometimes the grid line appears visible on the plinths too. Always subtle but helping to show that simplicity and truthfulness of the design process and manufacture in the space.

The concept of the material and colours chosen is inspired and directed by the objects, with an extensive focus on the purity of material. The cork blocks used to create the showcases and plinths are inspired by the craft of William Morris, each block is positioned to extend the grid line within the wall.

As most objects have been acquired by lenders, it was imperative that the design and position of each object was calculated before installation in order to ensure the acquisition of the loans. This involved extensive detailed drawings of the new showcases and walls with emphasis on the security, conservation and method of installation. The layout of the walls required the graphic to be installed first with objects positioned within the gridline. This meant that accurate object sizes needed to be met and checked to ensure they sat in the correct position within the graphic and the overall narrative of the exhibition.

Exhibition Design: Simon Milthorp
Graphic Design: Lai Couto
Setworks and Build: Odel Jefferies
Lighting Design: DHA Lighting
Photography: William Morris Gallery