18 Okt Karel Martens Re-Printed Matter
“Form is the condition through which a common life becomes possible: through which a relationship between people comes about. Design determines the quality of our common life.” Hardly anyone experiments more passionately and playfully with the relation of forms as Karel Martens himself has – for over half a century to date. For the Dutch graphic Designer Martens, working with grids, geometrical shapes and colours was at no time a mere accessory, a final appealing touch under the spell of advertising. Studying fine arts in Arnhem, at a time, when graphic design was not even considered as a career path worth following, Karel was fully drawn into the material (paper) world. ‘Karel Martens Re-Printed Matter’ pays tribute to Martens’ mathematical, kinetic approach when it comes to setting the grid, arranging the types, designing books and posters, or the Dutch architectural magazine OASE.