Rietveld by the People (DIY Modernism)

This hands-on manual playfully explores the tension between originality, imitation, and individual taste by looking at Gerrit Rietveld’s design legacy through a selection of five do-it-yourself copies of his iconic chair designs. Who are the people behind these chairs? What inspired them to “improve” on Rietveld’s original design?

Gerrit Rietveld was a Dutch architect and designer who produced a wide range of iconic chairs throughout his life, including the Zig-Zag chair, the Red and Blue chair and the Steltman chair. He was an advocate of the “universal” in design and blamed individualism for all the ills of the world at the time. Rietveld by the People shows how today’s individualism is reflected in remakes / personal interpretations / DIY versions of Rietveld’s designs. . Rietveld by the People is part of the Residency for the People project directed and initiated by Lucas Maassen, an independent designer, educator and curator based in Eindhoven.