AS ABOVE SO BELOW 

- An exhibition about liberty, equality and Design

Exhibition Period: 17 February - 9 april 2012 Utzon Center

The draft for ”As Above So Below” was for an exhibition meant to uncover the design processes. The result is a universe created by pure process and sheer joy of creating in an inspiring partnership between Peter Lassen, the designer and founder of Montana, and Marco Evaristti, the artist.

What lies behind the well-known design? Which process of creation goes ahead? The design process draws on knowledge, experience, computations and also on something less definable: fantasy, aesthetic sense, creativity. You get an insight into the process through the sketch. The sketch stands for what is quickly, loosely put to paper, the brainstorming. The sketch has admission to several subconscious layers where anything is permitted, nothing controlled. Here are no control and no rules, everything is free and permitted.

During some visits with his friend, Peter Lassen, Marco Evaristti had seen a number of paper works which Lassen revealed to be his “exercises”. On shelves, in drawers, around he had picked up these “exercises”.

This was the starting signal for “As Above So Below”. Evaristti wanted to show the “exercises” – go behind the scenes and show the nocturnal side of the designer’s work. As distinct from the well-known functionalistic product – Lassen’s design in the form of book shelves and other things – stood these unknown, uncensored, free sketches.

Design products – and exhibitions as such – are typically an end product, a product of a row of deliberations; these have been collected at some time and taken form of the product or the tale toward which the work had been done. “As Above So Below” is not such an exhibition. What we see is one long process, and as the title indicates, the process is free of any hierarchy. Based on Lassen’s “exercises” the exhibition has been developed in cooperation between the artist and the designer in which the artist was to bring together the result and the designer was to provide the creativity. On the way the roles were exchanged. Or in reality they were given up. Neither the one nor the other have put up limits but have sent new ideas and tasks to the other one. These two, Peter Lassen and Marco Evaristti, let us with “As Above So Below” into a universe of creative joy and zeal. In a ping-pong course they have challenged each other.

How these challenges have come out may collectedly be experienced at the Utzon Center from Feb. 17 until April 9, 2012.

 Opening of the exhibition 16th February

Peter Lassen and MA. in art history, art critic and author, Bente

Scavenius

Marco Evaristti

The Dance Theatre Carmen with their flamenco show

Peter Lassen and Marco Evaristti