15 November 2025  For several years, the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna – has explored new ways of linking contemporary artistic practice with its historic collections. One of these formats is the MAK Artists' Dinner, a fundraising event where invited artists create special editions in collaboration with traditional manufacturers. Previous dinners have already resulted in collaborations with Gmundner Keramik, including editions designed by Jakob Lena Knebl and Vivienne Westwood. Each edition helped raise money for the museum's extensive projects while demonstrating how historical design can inspire new interpretations. A Dinner that Sets the StageThis year's collaboration brought together the MAK, Gmundner Keramik, and contemporary artist Markus Schinwald. The edition was created for the November 2025 Artists' Dinner, which prepared guests for the upcoming reorganization of the MAK's permanent collection Vienna 1900, opening in February 2026.Schinwald designed a series of plates and a textile edition by diving deep into the MAK archives. The ceramic pieces reinterpret a historical underplate by Josef Hoffmann, while the tablecloth and napkins reference designs by Koloman Moser and Hoffmann. Rather than copying these originals, Schinwald rearranged their graphic elements into new compositions. His approach reflects his long-term interest in how cultural memory and authorship can shift when historical material is rearranged. The sale of both editions supports the MAK's museum work. This fundraising aspect has become an essential part of the dinner format: the objects created for a single evening continue to help finance exhibitions long after the event has ended. A New View on Vienna 1900The collaboration leads directly into Schinwald's larger task: rethinking the MAK Permanent Collection Vienna 1900. Under the title Reorganization: Vienna 1900 – The Pathmaker to Modernism, the project aims to present this key era of Austrian design history from new angles. Instead of a strict chronological structure, the reorganization focuses on ideas, exchanges, and networks that shaped the period between the first Secession exhibition in 1898 and the end of the Second World War.Central to this story are the Reform movements that emerged around the turn of the century: the Wiener Werkstätte, the Austrian and German Werkbund, and later the Bauhaus. They grew in close connection with the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry and its affiliated School of Arts and Crafts – today's University of Applied Arts Vienna. Their shared goal was to unite architecture, decorative arts, and everyday objects under the principle of the "total work of art." Design History as Living MaterialSchinwald and the MAK curators incorporate both well-known masterpieces and lesser-known archival items into the reorganization. Loans from external collections complement the museum's own significant holdings. The exhibition also acknowledges the social and political breaks of the time, spanning five different political systems.To provide visitors with a fresh experience, Schinwald has created scenographic spaces reminiscent of film sets and archival installations. These environments bring together objects ranging from small bookplates to monumental furniture. The new presentation highlights how artistic, architectural, and design innovations from Vienna around 1900 still resonate today. Image: During the MAK Artists’ Dinner on 13 November 2025, museum director Lilli Hollein and artist Markus Schinwald stand in the columned hall of the MAK holding plates from the new special edition designed for the Artists’ Dinner to support the museum’s upcoming Vienna 1900 reorganization. Photo: © MAK / eSeL.at - Joanna Pianka |