FREESTYLE: NEW AUSTRALIAN DESIGN FOR LIVING

Bringing together the work and stories of 40 outstanding designers

Object Gallery and Melbourne Museum presented a groundbreaking exhibition of contemporary Australian design. Freestyle: new Australian design for living overviewed Australia 's best and freshest design for the home and the body by 40 outstanding designers. Included in the line-up was furniture by Charles Wilson, lighting by Bernabeifreeman, textiles by cloth, homewares by Jon Goulder, fashion by Easton Pearson and Akira Isogawa, jewellery by Dinosaur Designs and personal accessories by Crumpler. Together, the works on show profiled the character, vibrancy and increasing maturity of contemporary design in Australia . Freestyle also revealed the stories' behind the designs, disclosing aspects of the personality, passion and process of individual designers and placed their work in broader personal and cultural contexts.

Curated by Object's Associate Director Brian Parkes and accompanied by a major publication with exhibition design and identity by internationally acclaimed Frost Design this compelling survey exhibition was a first-time collaboration between the Melbourne Museum and Object Gallery. Launched in Melbourne in 2006, Freestyle travelled to Sydney before embarking on a national and international tour to Milan in 2008.

To find out more about the exhibition and its 40 Australian designers go to www.freestyledesign.info.

Curious to find out more about Freestyle? Read an excerpt of the exclusive interview with Freestyle curator Brian Parkes in Object Magazine Issue 50. To purchase this issue click here.

Object Magazine Issue 51 also has an in depth look at some of the questions that Freestyle raises. To purchase this issue click here.