AMERSFOORT.- The exhibition ‘De Stijl voorbij. Gerrit Rietveld en de jaren vijftig.’ (translation: Beyond De Stijl. Gerrit Rietveld and the 1950s.) in the first art hall of the Netherlands has been extended until the 22nd of April 2018 due to successful reception. A large number of visitors from Europe and the rest of the world have visited the exhibition and showed great enthusiasm for the relatively unknown Rietveld Pavilion, the only original exhibition pavilion that Rietveld made in the 1950s .

The exhibition was part of the Mondrian to Dutch Design year that was celebrated in 2017. The iconic Rietveld Pavilion is brought back to the public’s attention and the exhibition focusses on the turbulent post-war 1950s.

The fifties of the twentieth century were crucial years in the life and work of Gerrit Rietveld. After a period of a slight decrease in commissions, a new recognition was achieved on a national and international level. This change was initiated by the exhibition of De Stijl in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1951, to which Rietveld was invited to participate. The exhibition was a great success and made its way to Venice and New York. One of the responses to the successful exhibition was an increase in commissions for public spaces from national and international patrons, and resulted in a new apprectiation of Rietveld as architect and designer.

Rietveld Pavilion
The pavilion built in 1959 is one of the most important later works of architect Gerrit Rietveld. It is a respectable example of the functionalist architecture of the Interbellum, known in the Netherlands as Nieuwe Zakelijkheid (Neue Sachlichkeit). With its sober, almost Spartan, characteristics the Rietveld Pavilion distinguishes itself internationally by its spatial qualities.

Rietveld designed the building in 1959 as an exhibition space to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the city Amersfoort, which showed huge changes into the era of modernity. For over fifty years the Rietveld Pavilion functioned as a center for modern art in Amersfoort, with many (inter)national exhibitions. After a period of uncertainty about its future all eyes are yet again turned to the pavilion in Amersfoort. The pavilion is being renovated to bring it back to its original state, so that which the authentic look of the interior are restored.

Exhibition ‘De Stijl voorbij. Gerrit Rietveld en de jaren vijftig.’
The exhibition De Stijl voorbij. Gerrit Rietveld en de jaren vijftig. manages to recreate the atmosphere of the fifties as well as the important part Rietveld played in it. In a contemporary manner the post-war 1950s and Rietveld’s part in this decade of reconstruction is shown. The Zeitgeist is full of innovation but shows tension as well. The working class of the Netherlands were to be re-educated in common taste based on the principles of architecture and interior design of the so-called Goed Wonen-movement (translated as 'Living Well'), of which Rietveld was a part of. The exhibition De Stijl voorbij. Gerrit Rietveld en de jaren vijftig. focusses on the history of the development of the Rietveld Pavilion in Amersfoort, and places it in the context of its decade and of the two other pavilions that were realised, Sonsbeek and Venice. Other designs by Rietveld in the 1950s are exhibited as well, like the Amersfoort Chair, the Mondial chair and a remake of the airplane interior from Lockheed Electra. One of the highlights is an authentic part of the Unesco press room that Rietveld designed in 1958.