The project centers on the textile seat as an independent design element. Textile materials possess special properties: They respond to the body and to movement, create atmosphere, convey proximity, comfort, or tension. Over and above their pure function, they can have an emotional, spatial, and aesthetic effect. These potentials form the starting point of design work.

The students have closely examined historical and contemporary seating items from Die Neue Sammlung’s collection. These objects have served them not as role models in the classical sense but as points of reference and as stimuli for their own approaches. What role does material play in relation to the body? How does the structure, surface, and textile technology change our perception of sitting? And how can we think of new forms of using seating?

The design process included researching materials and techniques, conceptual experiments, and developing and realizing prototypes. The outcome were seating items made of a variety of materials, such as felt, leather, and metal.

STAY is presenting these pieces in the X-D-E-P-O-T by way of a snapshot of an open design process. The exhibition offers us an opportunity to see how young designers bring curiosity, precision, and a zest for experimentation to bear in renegotiating the relationship between body, material, and space – and reveals seating to be something that goes far beyond merely taking your place.

Regular cooperation with education institutes such as academies and universities is a core part of Die Neue Sammlung’s mission. For Die Neue Sammlung seeks to support the discourse on current topics and content with students in practice, too, and render it accessible to the museum’s visitors.

Ayzit Bostan is a designer and artist and lives in Munich. Since 2012, she has been Professor of Textile Product Design at Kunsthochschule Kassel. In 2023, Ayzit Bostan was awarded the “State Capital of Munich’s Design Prize”.

Students:
Helena Bals, Zoe Debik, Matilda Elisabeth Grams, Tim Felix Kostka, Tatjana Kovbasa, Felix Leiffer, Indira Maruki , Carolina Moisei, Silas Vogler, Linjun Zeng