FOKUS: The Essence of Lightness

„Lightness means being present in the here and now“: For the fifth edition of the group exhibition format FOKUS, Swiss guest curator Connie Hüsser has curated a selection of outstanding design objects that explore lightness as a creative and atmospheric quality. The exhibition showcases international works whose value lies not in spectacle, but in the ease of use, tranquility, clarity, and naturalness they embody. Hüsser is interested in objects that allow for openness, that float rather than dominate, that appear permeable rather than monumental, and that reveal fragility, movement, and tension. Between technical precision and emotional freedom, a design language emerges that is allowed to be soft without becoming arbitrary – intuitive, sensual, poetic, and clear.
 
In order to offer an arena for sculptural, experimental, and conceptual approaches to the design of objects, the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK launched the group exhibition format FOKUS in 2022: Every year, guest curators make selections from the local and international responses to a different subject and present these collectively in the Festival Headquarters.
 
A key element of this process is the specially commissioned spatial presentation, which brings together the objects and allows them to unfold their effect. This year’s scenography is created by costume and set designer Kathrin Kemp.