Dutch Design Daily

1 / 9

By

By

By

By

By

By

By

By

By
Lies Willers & Jeanine Aalfs www.hermitage.nl

Dining with the Tsars

By 05-11-2014

Lies Willers and Jeanine Aalfs design the lavish exhibition at Hermitage Amsterdam: ‘Dining with the Tsars – Fragile beauty from the Hermitage’.

Spatial designer Lies Willers and stylist Jeanine Aalfs joined forces; this lead to an innovative, festive, engaging, dreamlike and overwhelming scenography.

Combining impressionistic, abstract installations with refined styling elements, bold colours and humorous details, Willers and Aalfs created a dramatic yet respectful stage for the magnificent porcelain services from the collection of the Hermitage in St Petersburg.

The exhibition design evokes the 18th century lavish balls and banquets of the Tsar’s court, but deliberately avoids fakery, re-construction or pastiche. The carefully directed light touch of all elements creates a sense of history and heritage, whilst the over-all atmosphere is fresh and contemporary. It is for the first time that this fragile collection is shown to the public in an open display.

Exhibition ‘Dining with the Tsars – Breekbare schoonheid uit de Hermitage’
Hermitage, Amstel 51, Amsterdam
untill 1 March 2015