Soft Borders
Buro Belén
13 October – 11 November 2018

Looiersgracht 60 is delighted to present ‘Soft Borders’ – the first major, institutional exhibition by award winning Dutch design studio Buro Belén. Established by Brecht Duijf and Lenneke Langenhuijsen in 2013, Buro Belén pays the utmost attention to materials and physical sensitivity while creating designs for the future. The design duo combines unexpected materials with both traditional and cutting edge techniques in an exciting medley of industry, craftsmanship, high and low technology. Doing so allows them to amplify and extend the material properties of the products, objects and spaces they create.

Buro Belén and Looiersgracht 60 have been working together for over a year to create a site-specific show that presents a detailed overview of their practice. ‘Soft Borders’ gives visitors the opportunity to look beyond the finished products and to delve into Buro Belén’s unique working method. Exhibited alongside large scale textiles is a series of wearables and three dimensional objects, including two display cases created specifically for this show. The rich spectrum of diverse materials and objects exemplify Buro Belén’s research into material and colour and their rejection of standard industrial processes. Also presented are research notes, materials, prototypes, sketches, samples, client project books and works in progress providing an in-depth overview of the experimental and developmental steps taken to create each piece. Through a specifically commissioned on-site project, as well as new and existing works, ‘Soft Borders’ showcases Buro Belén’s nuanced world-view and remarkable ability to combine many seemingly disparate strands into compelling objects of beauty.