CRISS&CROSS is an exhibition on Swiss design. Sponsored by Pro Helvetia, it is currently on a tour around world. The Swiss Arts Council is responsible for arranging tour stops with interested partners.

 

Content

Design is a mirror of a country’s way of life and its history. Furniture, household appliances, clothes, sports equipment, jewellery, bags, books and the like are more than just implements of everyday life. They are also signs of who belongs to whom, and who wants to belong.

 

CRISS&CROSS reveals that there is more to Switzerland than just chocolate, watches and Swiss army knives. With more than 400 artefacts exhibited in and around six large wooden crates, CRISS&CROSS shows how engineers and designers collaborate – in the world of graphic design, in fashion or in the creation of objects of everyday use. CRISS&CROSS combines the prolific diversity of present-day products with Switzerland’s rich tradition in design. Pioneers have set standards that contemporary designers are building on and developing, each in their own manner.

 

Title

CRISS&CROSS is a reference to both the cross on the Swiss flag and the wide range of design disciplines, both past and present, in the selection of artefacts.

 

Structure

The exhibition is made up of the following eight parts:

 

Up to the mountains

Featuring the tourist industry’s mountain railways, cable-cars, tunnels, chalets, hotels, posters, sports equipment, hats and gloves, all of which naturally has to be given an appealing design.

 

Longsellers

Swiss design that goes back a long way: Toblerone, the Swiss army knife, the Swiss map, furniture by Willy Guhl, Le Corbusier or USM Haller.

 

Tiny helpers

Our arms, hands, legs and eyes are useful, but limited. We all need crutches and tiny helpers to get through the day more smoothly in our offices and homes, kitchens and gardens.

 

A visual statement

Graphic design made in Switzerland enjoys worldwide acclaim. A slide show presents some 300 current works of graphic design from various fields and a selection of exquisitely designed books.

 

Small & beautiful

Switzerland is a small country and its engineers are masters of miniaturisation. Yet even these miniscule objects – once just watches and musical boxes, these days digital cameras and hearing aids too – all owe their distinctive appearance to Swiss designers.

 

Hip & young

Design is youth culture, design is fashion, jewellery, graphic design and furniture. Many small studios design and produce goods and brands specifically for small, but dynamic scenes, giving rise to a delightful Babel of colours and shapes.

 

Textile & fashion

Textiles play an important role in the history of the country, especially in the building of its export industry. Nowadays, Swiss fashion designers create most of their products for the domestic market. Only a few, such as the Akris label, have gained an international foothold.

 

Library

Switzerland has a long tradition as a book-printing nation. Books that boast not only stimulating and intelligent content, but also such beautiful design that their publishers can find buyers for them all over the world.

 

History of the show

At the invitation of the Arts and Design Section of the Federal Office for Culture, Hochparterre AG and re.FORM designed the Swiss contribution to the 5th Architecture Biennale in São Paolo in 2003. Once back from Brazil, they decided to build on this image of Switzerland for a show at the Gewerbemuseum (museum of arts and crafts) in Winterthur.

 

Under the patronage of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, the exhibition has been on a world tour since 2004 and is regularly updated:

 

• Berlin, «DesignMai», im Pfefferberg (6–30 May 2004)
• Budapest, Karton gallery (10 June – 17 July 2004)
• Willisau, Foroom Team by Wellis (24 Aug. – 22 Sep. 2004)
• Prague, «Designblock», in the factory (4–11 Oct. 2004)
• Bratislava, Museum Umelecka (18–31 Oct. 2004)
• Lucerne, GWAND fashion festival (25–28 Nov. 2004)
• Poland, Cieszyn, design centre (28 Jan. – 27 Feb. 2005)
• Italy, Rome, Istituto Svizzero di Roma (8 June – 17 July 2005)
• Japan, Tokyo, Akihabara School (27 Sep. – 23 Oct. 2005)
• Sagamihara, Japan, Joshibi University of Art and Design (7 Dec. 2005 – 20 Feb. 2006)
• Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, former building of Hamamatsu Bank Assoc. (19 May – 18 June 2006)
• Lausanne, mudac. Musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains (7 Mar. – 28 May 2007)
• India, Ahmedabad, National Institute of Design (5–14 Aug. 2008)
• India, Bangalore, Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan (5–20 Sep. 2008)
• China, Wuxi, Wuxi Museum (16–26 Oct. 2009)
• China, Wuxi, Jiangnan University (1–25 Nov. 2009)
• China, Nanjing, Nanjing Arts Institute (1–31 Dec. 2009)
• China, Guangzhou, Academy of Fine Arts (19 Mar. – 9 Apr. 2010)
• China, Expo Shanghai 2010, Swiss Pavilion (1–31 July 2010)