5 to See: This Weekend

This week’s selection explores the concept of space through a multitude of different mediums. Inviting the viewer to actively participate, whether physically or metaphorically, these exhibitions offer interactive, thoughtful approaches to design, photography and installation.

The Future City is Flexible – (W)EGO, Eindhoven
In line with Dutch Design Week’s forward-thinking ethos, architect Winy Maas (b. 1959) of MVRDV and The Why Factory propose an innovative, adaptable design model that foregrounds primal desires and fantasies. Nine brightly coloured, interconnected rooms encourage users to interact with each other, creating a participatory design model that explores both individual and collective dreamscapes.  Until 29 October. www.ddw.nl.

UMBRA, Fotografiska, Stockholm
Viviane Sassen’s (b. 1972) practice explores notions of perception and gaze. The images presented in UMBRA create a space for the viewer to imagine their own histories, encounters and associations. Abstracted shapes and shadows are contrasted with bright colours, playfully connecting with the darker side of human consciousness. Until 12 November. www.fotografiska.eu.

Beazley Designs of the Year, Design Museum, London
Entering its tenth year, Beazley Designs of the Year presents over 60 innovative, socio-politically aware projects from across the globe. From ambitious construction to VR projects, the nominees embrace changing notions of the places inhabited by human beings. Categories include Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Graphics, Product and Transport. Until 28 January. www.designmuseum.org.

On the heights, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield
Engaging with the history of YSP’s surrounding landscape, On the heights presents both indoor and open-air pieces by experimental practitioners Miriam Austin, Sam Belinfante, Tom Lovelace and Frances Scott. The works, created as an outcome of the artists’ full immersion in the landscape, inspire viewers to consider a non-linear relationship with the past, offering dialogues between the locale and contemporary practices including video, sound and sculpture. From 28 October. www.ysp.org.uk.

Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, The Broad, Los Angeles
Plunging visitors into bright, kaleidoscopic interiors, Kusama’s (b. 1929) Infinity Rooms explore notions of endless, repetitive structures. Simultaneously hypnotic and disorientating, they provide an immersive and introspective playground for the psyche. Displayed alongside a selection of painting, sculpture and large-scale installations, the rooms highlight the concept of limitless imagination in artist’s 60 year career. Until 1 January. www.thebroad.org.

Credits:
1. MVRDV and The Why Factory, The Future City is Flexible – (W)EGO. Image © Ossip van Duivenbode
2. Uitkijk, 2013, image courtesy of Viviane Sassen and Stevenson gallery.
3.  Sala Beckett Theatre, Barcelona. Old and new windows connecting the Bar with the Vestibule. Image by Adrià Goula.
4.  Miriam Austin, Sequence for White Wells, digital video still, 2017. Image courtesy of the artist and Art Licks.
5. Yayoi Kusama, The Obliteration Room, 2002. Photograph: Courtesy QAGOMA, © Yayoi Kusama.