MSK Ghent, entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts

The MSK Ghent, is the Museum of FIne Arts in Gent (BE).  They have launched a new website iwth content in different languages, which makes easier to receive international recognition.  This post is about the reception-entrance area, which at the time the pictures were taken offers a seasonal christmas decoration.

The area is an open plan self-explanatory room with an easy access from the exterior and a easy reading of the possibilities the entrace is ofering.  As a four walls- four doors room, there is no doubt what to do: seeking information, entering the exhibiton spaces, heading to the cafeteria/restaurant or reaching the museum shop.

Though the building's architecture is massive, the entrance is quite minimal but has the advantage of a glass ceiling which gives an airy atmosphere to the space.

You can also discover the Flemish Art Collection: 

... is the structural partnership between three art-historical museums in Flanders: The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, the Groeninge Museum Bruges and the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent. (from the website)

housed in the three above referenced museums, the catalogue offers detailed information.

"Indian Jewelry" exhibtion in Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden (NL)

A recent visit to the Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden, offered a nice surprise in the form of a small exhibit about "Contemporary Indian Jewelry".  The museum is going under renovation and it is due to re-open in fal 2012, therefore the collections/exhibitions on display and amount od spaces open to public are limited.

The exhibit is the part of the museum currently open to public, in the main room dedicated to Asia but in a small space, which is not a problem to offer some substanctial content about the subject.  It is curated by Saskia Konniger, who is researching for the museum about Indian traditions, and has conceived the show after two field trips to several regions in India: Rajasthan (Bikaner and Jaipur) to study the work of goldsmiths. After the trips, her findings has incoporated some new pieces into the museum's collection.

general view of the exhibition

I found the exhibit very appealing, condensed and well presented both in terms of pieces and layout, though the cases where the pieces were shown had too many reflects and the quality of craftmanship was at times difficult to be appreciated.

Panels and labels and auviovisuals were instructive, as well as the wall covered by photos and images from (we must guess) the researcher's travels together with and local iconography.  That was a touch of artistic connection with the pieces shown that converged with the anthropological vision, as an inmersion into some aspects of Indian culture.

The catalogue contains good visual documentation, but (as informed from the museum's desk) it has only been published in Dutch, which from a quick reading is a pit,y for it surely contains valuable information that would allow to better understand the content of the exhibition.

Images of some of the pieces on display:
 

"Kaj Franck : Finnish design icon", The exhibit at the Design Museum Gent

A visit to the exhibit "Kaj Franck - Finnish design icon"shown at the Design Museum Gent, shows that the power of escandinavian craftsmen and the quality of products from almos any of the artists/designers that have worked since the last decades of the XIXth century.

The exhibit's concept is about showcasing the work of Finnish craftsman and designer Kaj Franck, who was considered a reformer of design. The year 2011 marked the 100th anniversary of his birth.  The show brings some of the best objects designed by Franck.

His work captures very much the essence of the Finnish design, he removed from the pieces everyting that was not essential and conceived lines and colors to work as function.

Franck worked as designer for the best companies of the moment, such as Iitala or Arabia.  But his influence was perhaps most important, as he taught at the School of Arts and Design in Helsinki, and a vaste number of future designers passed by his classes.

 

The show is organized in partnership with the Design Museum Helsinki, Finland, the museum has just opened a new exhibition that tries to unveil the significance of the Finnish design.  The city of Helsinki is also celebrating being the World Design Capital in 2012.