“Alternative Histories” at the Irish Architectural Archive
Following runs in London and Brussels, “Alternative Histories” now makes its way to Dublin, on view at the Irish Architectural Archive. Organized in collaboration with the Drawing Matter Trust and the Architecture Foundation in London, the exhibition examines the notion of alternative realities by envisioning exchanges between 80 European architectural firms. For the Irish finale, a few more practices, such as Grafton Architects and O’Donnell & Tuomey, were added to the mix. An exercise in possibility, the team was given a different drawing culled from the Drawing Matter Trust’s library, and then asked to make a model that imagined another outcome for the original plan. Through February 26
“Alternative Histories.”
Photo: Denis Mortell / Courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive“Memphis: Plastic Field” at the MK Gallery
A vast collection of furniture by the Memphis Group, the radical Italian design collective founded by Ettore Sottsass, is the focus of “Memphis: Plastic Field” at the MK Gallery in Milton Keynes, England, outside of London. The pieces—look out for those from Shiro Kuramata and Michael Graves—were created between 1981 and 1988. Colorful, kitschy, and sensual, they incorporate bold graphics and unconventional materials like plastic laminate and terrazzo. Through April 25
“Memphis: Plastic Field.”
Photo: Rob Harris / Courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive“Tears That Taste of the Sea” at the October Gallery
Multifaceted Algerian artist Rachid Koraïchi, who is working on the Garden of Africa, a Tunisian cemetery that honors the lives of migrants who drowned while crossing the Mediterranean, is fascinated by the signs and symbols found in other languages and cultures. He likes integrating them into his creations, and in “Tears That Taste of the Sea,” at the October Gallery in London, these hand-drawn characters are the identifying link between a wide body of work Koraïchi turned out over the course of the pandemic. These include a large etching, paintings, a series of imposing steel sculptures, and a collection of blue-and-white ceramic vases, all of which aptly speak of loss. January 22–March 27
A vase included in the exhibition.
Photo: Courtesy of October Gallery
