High Museum of Art’s May Collection Highlight features an art piece titled ‘Ivy Climbing Wall’ by a designer from the Netherlands, Joris Laarman.
Laarman brings new perspectives to contemporary design with his conceptual creations that push the envelope of technological boundaries. The Dutch artist consistently seeks new methods of mostly experimental fabrications, which propels him to explore new processes for creating art pieces that have made him one of the most compelling designers today.
In ‘Ivy Climbing Wall,’ Laarman shifts a commonly overlooked paradigm from something as simple as traveling between floors. Laarman presents an alternative to stairs and an elegant piece of architectural decor.
“It’s like a fun route to take instead of an efficient route to take. It is functional, but it is a different kind of functionality than we are used to,” said Laarman.
Laarman added that he wants to alter traditional perspectives on functionalism: “I wanted to demonstrate that modernist functionality and postmodernist effusiveness do not have to exclude each other … that functionalists are also sinners of styling and that soberness is not always more valid than highly decorative form.”
Visitors can view the Ivy Climbing Wall on the Wieland Pavilion Skyway Level at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, along with over 18 thousand works of art in their rotating collection.
Joris Laarman is a Dutch designer, artist, and entrepreneur who made his name creating experimental designs that are largely influenced and inspired by the new technologies that we see every day. Laarman’s designs have become permanent fixtures in exhibitions around the world in museums such as MoMA in New York, V&A in London, and Centre Pompidou in Paris.