stedelijk museum to present solo show dedicated to studio drift’s transdisciplinary work

from april 25 – august 26, 2018 the stedelijk museum amsterdam is presenting a solo exhibition dedicated to dutch duo studio drift. ‘coded nature’ features a mix of early designs and new, previously unseen projects. eight of studio drift’s room-filling installations, together with a selection of films, will occupy the institution, offering an in-depth survey of the practice’s ongoing interest in tech art, performance, and biodesign.

drifter, during the world premiere the armory show in 2017 | courtesy of pace gallery

‘we’ve been following studio drift for many years,’ curator ingeborg de roode says. ‘after purchasing fragile future chandelier 3.5 in 2015, we were waiting for the right moment to show the piece at the museum, together with other work by studio drift. now that they have developed a consistent oeuvre throughout more than a decade and gained international acclaim with pieces such as concrete storm and drifter, this is the perfect moment to present the first survey of their work in the netherlands.’

flylight, arsenale venice (2014) | courtesy of carpenters workshop gallery

as an institution that has continually placed great importance on art, design, performance, the stedelijk museum is the perfect venue to exhibit studio drift’s multidisciplinary work. the firm’s founders, lonneke gordijn and ralph nauta, look towards contemporary topics such as sustainability and augmented reality to draw attention to a society in flux, shaped by the impact of rapidly-evolving innovation. changing relationships between man, nature and technology is at the core of studio drift’s oeuvre.

in 20 steps, venice biennale (2015 | image by duco volker, courtesy of pace gallery

especially for the stedelijk museum, studio drift will create the largest-ever installation of ‘fragile future’ formed around ‘fragile future chandelier 3.5’. the light sculpture, one of the studio’s first projects, comprises dandelion heads individually applied to LED lights — an extremely labor-intensive process. envisioned as utopian glimpse into the future, in which the forces of two seemingly irreconcilable worlds unite in a bid to survive, the installation has since evolved into a system composed of modules, which can be combined in various configurations. 

fragile future, cidade matarazzo (2014) | courtesy of carpenters workshop gallery

another highlight is ‘drifter’, a floating concrete monolith measuring four by two by two meters. the object was first revealed in the film ‘drifters’, which will make its premiere in this exhibition. the twelve-minute film shot in the scottish highlands follows an entity as it searchers for its origin and purpose. themes of perception and reality are present throughout — but the film delves deeper to question: can an individual ever escape the group?

fragile future chandelier 3.5 (2012)
collectie stedelijk museum amsterdam, acquired with financial support from ‘het mondriaan fonds’

fragile future detail modules | courtesy of carpenters workshop gallery

shylight, dutch design week eindhoven (2015) | courtesy of pace gallery

ghost collection

concrete storm, courtesy of artsy in partnership with microsoft hololens
world premiere at the armory show, new york (2017) | photo by silvia ros