“Weingart Typography”, an exhibition by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, is organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau with the support of the Consulate General of Switzerland in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI), the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) (Lee Wai Lee), and Connecting Spaces Hong Kong – Zurich, the “Weingart Typography” exhibition was inaugurated on Friday, 15 April, at 6:30pm, at Tap Seac Gallery. Over 200 masterpieces of graphic design by international typographer Wolfgang Weingart and his students will be showcased.
The ceremony was officiated by the the president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng; the Consul-General of Switzerland in Hong Kong, Reto Renggli; the Assistant to the Director-General of the Department of Education and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao S.A.R., Zhang Xiaoguang; the Deputy Director of the Integrated Services Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao S.A.R., Wang Yuan and the Curator of the exhibition, Barbara Junod.
Specially curated for designer Wolfgang Weingart by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, this exhibition is developed from the museum’s own collection, which displays, in various themes, Weingart’s experimental works of “Circular Compositions” and “Line Pictures”, various experiments and studies of ‘The Letter M’, as well as his teaching accomplishments. Visitors are able to appreciate Weingart’s typography and typesetting design and his use of image collages and other approaches, thereby better understanding of his creative work process.
Regarded as the enfant terrible of modern Swiss typography, Wolfgang Weingart revolutionised modern Swiss typography, inscribing a new chapter in world design history. Early in the mid-1960s, he broke the established rules of typography: by varying letters in usual limits of right-angles and re-adjusting the spacing between letters and reorganising the typesetting. Later in 1970s, he mounted halftone films to form collages and then had these printed in offset, in this way anticipating the digital sampling of post-modern “New Wave” and exhausting the possibilities of lead typesetting and the letterpress. In later stages, he integrated the effects of the photocopier into his design. As a typography teacher at the Schule für Gestaltung Basel since 1968, Weingart has nurtured generations of designers. This exhibition also showcases his students’ works to allow the audience to capture his teaching methodologies and impact on later generations.
The organizer hopes this exhibition can share the creative accomplishments of international typography master Wolfgang Weingart with the public. The “Weingart Typography” exhibition will be held from 16 April to 12 June at Tap Seac Gallery, located at Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, No. 95. Admission is free. The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 9pm. For enquiries, please contact IC through tel. no. 8988 4000 during office hours.