Eye Magazine

Specific conditions need to be in place for the production of graphic design that is capable of shifting the discipline and challenging the meaning and perceived understanding of a printed object. Content, budget and timeframe are all standard requirements – but the attitude of the commissioner (the client) is the most important. A receptive client who is not afraid to take risks and build a collaborative team is one of a rare breed.

From what I saw displayed at this small but perfectly formed exhibition at the Swedish Institute in Paris, it seems that Pontus Hultén (1924-2006) came remarkably close to this ideal. The exhibition tells the story of someone who enjoyed working with people, was open to new ideas about what graphic design could achieve collaborating with designers from different fields and overseeing the creation of printed matter that functioned simultaneously as a book, a catalogue and an artist’s book. At the time, such concepts were new, as was the term ‘artist’s book’.

The influence of Willem Sandberg (see Eye 25), the director of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, is evident. The two worked together on a number of exhibitions during the 1960s. Hultén took Sandberg’s progressive vision of what a modern museum could be and implemented his own version at Moderna Museet in Stockholm.

While Sandberg was restricted to using the type and printing presses at the Amsterdam municipal printing works – and was very much the designer himself – Hultén had more freedom to explore wider networks, working with different designers and printers depending on the specific requirements of each project. The printed matter produced during his directorship focused more on amplifying the individuality and ‘objectness’ of each exhibition, rather than shaping a consistent institutional identity. He worked closely with designers, artists and printers in a four-way collaboration. The output is varied and extraordinary.

The poster for ‘Bewogen Beweging’ [‘Moving Movement’], curated by Hultén for the Stedelijk in 1961, brought together artists working in various forms, ranging from performance and happenings to film and kinetic art. The poster interacts with its environment, the background visible through punched holes – a wonderful concept by artist and designer Dieter Roth, also featured in the exhibition.

The exhibition design in ‘Keep Smiling!’, by Mayckel Hanania and Stinsensqueeze, is in harmony with the materials used in the work. A series of actual spreads from the American Pop Art catalogue (1964) are displayed on top of a mirrored wall. It is a rare pleasure to get close to the originals and observe the production process. Though in some cases reproductions have had to be made, only the eagle-eyed viewer would notice.

The curator, Stina Gromark – also a graphic designer – has designed and published the comprehensive book that accompanies the exhibition. It is well researched, richly documented and full of stories and discussion around Hultén’s legacy. It is a testament to the notion that a book can serve as a lasting record of an exhibition – one that continues to have a life of its own.

Fraser Muggeridge designer, London

First published in Eye no. 109 vol. 28, 2025

Top. Installation view at ‘Keep Smiling! The Printed Universe of Pontus Hultén’, Swedish Institute, Paris, 2025. Photo by Fraser Muggeridge.