Poster, Exhibition by Jana Van Meerveld, Jonas Ohlsson, Ad de Jong

This selection of graphic work by Michiel Schuurman is representative of the bold vision of contemporary Dutch design. This exhibition poster for Horse Move Project Space explores optical disunity by utilizing computer technologies to create endless patterns of replication and visual complication. These computerized distortions preclude an easy reading of the poster, which challenges the conceptual bias of the printed poster as a means for conveying information. The visual bombardment of the repeated forms compels the viewer to look harder to decipher the information Schuurman was born in Amsterdam 1974 and studied graphic design and typography for two years at the Koninklijke Academie voor de Beeldende Kunsten in The Hague, and graduated in 2002 with a degree in graphic design from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie Amsterdam. Schuurman specializes in typography, designs his own typefaces, and prefers the discipline of working in black and white. In addition to posters, Schuurman has designed exhibition spaces, window displays, and architectural signage. HorseMove ProjectSpace was an artists’ cooperative exhibition project that lasted from April 2006 until June 2008. It was the initiative of two artists, Frank Ammerlaan and Michael Agacki, who took over an abandoned space next to the Post CS Building in downtown Amsterdam. Every three months, artists were invited at the recommendation of previous artists involved with the project. In the words of the founders, the goal was “to create an amalgamation of consensus between the artists who will be confronted with the exhibited artwork[s] left by the last artist.”[1] At the time of acquisition, the museum hold mostly historic examples of Dutch graphic design, including graphic blotters by Piet Zwart, and posters by Jan Thorn Prikker, Hendrikus Wijdeveld, Pieter Brattinga, and Hard Werken Design. The curators wish to develop a more robust history of Dutch graphic design and feel that these contemporary works are an important addition to that agenda. [1] “Horse Move Project,” Mediamatic, http://www.mediamatic.net/11198/en/horse-move-project