Hella Jongerius: Whispering Things

The Vitra Design Museum presents “Hella Jongerius: Whispering Things”, the exhibition opening to the public on 14 March 2026 in Weil am Rhein. It is the first major retrospective dedicated to the Dutch designer, one of the most influential figures in contemporary design of the past decades. For more than thirty years, Hella Jongerius has approached design as a poetic and critical practice, exploring the relationship between colour, materials and production processes. The exhibition retraces this research through more than 400 works, from early experimental pieces to iconic products and more recent sculptural ceramics. The exhibition brings together furniture, textiles, ceramics, sketches, prototypes, collages, images and films that document the designer’s creative process.


Hella Jongerius, Chicle Projects, 2009 © Jongerius Lab

Projects on display include collaborations with companies such as Maharam, KLM, Camper, IKEA and Vitra, as well as works created for institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Many of the objects come from Jongerius’ extensive archive, entrusted to the Vitra Design Museum in 2024, which offers an important insight into her working method: a system of connections, experimentation and reinterpretations of the past.


Hella Jongerius, Kasese Chair, 1999 © Jongerius Lab, ph: Gerrit Schreurs

The exhibition is organised into four thematic sections. Dirty Hands presents Jongerius’ early work in the 1990s with the Droog Design collective and highlights the importance of craftsmanship and material experimentation. Business Class explores collaborations with industry, presenting products, prototypes and studies that reflect on the relationship between design, production and brand identity. With Feeling Eye, the focus shifts to research on colour and materials, documented through installations and projects such as Coloured Vases and Colour Catchers. The final section, Cosmic Mind, brings together works at the intersection of art and design, including Frog Table, the Angry Animals series, Space Amulets and Unfoldable Cubes, dedicated to experimentation with three-dimensional textiles.


Hella Jongerius, Colour recipe research 2016 © Jongerius Lab, ph: Mathijs Labadie / Roel van Tour

At the centre of the exhibition is a key question: how can we design objects in a world that already has enough? Jongerius’ work invites us to rethink the role of objects in everyday life, shifting the focus from rapid consumption to a more conscious relationship with materials, processes and durability over time. After its premiere at the Vitra Design Museum, “Hella Jongerius: Whispering Things” will be presented from 16 October 2026 to 30 May 2027 at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, with further international venues planned.