What’s Karl Gerstner? Thinking in Motion

Ginza Graphic Gallery

[Image: Design: Kijuro Yahagi]

This event has ended.

In November, ginza graphic gallery (ggg) will hold the first Japanese exhibition to focus exclusively on Karl Gerstner, one of Switzerland’s most renowned designers. In 1965, when design in Japan was still in its infancy, Persona, an exhibition featuring 11 young designers, was held at the Ginza Matsuya department store. It showcased the work of highly prolific graphic designers who were still barely in their thirties such as Kazumasa Nagai, Ikko Tanaka, Shigeo Fukuda, and Tadanori Yokoo, and during its week-long run attracted an audience of 35,000. Karl Gerstner was one of the four foreign guest designers who was invited to take part. More than half a century has passed since this legendary exhibition, and ggg believes it is time to focus on the achievements of this individual, and to attempt to understand Karl Gerstner - the man and the creator - through his work and a wealth of archival material. This exhibition will feature 25 of his sophisticated and timeless advertisements, nine of his poster masterpieces, as well as the process of how he shaped his CI projects, what he explored in his book “Designing Programmes” (1964), and the art that he created alongside his design work - to show the artist, the designer, and his mind.