Biography Richard Hutten
“Traditionally design is about solving a problem. I don’t solve problems; I create possibilities”
Rotterdam based Richard Hutten is one of the most influential and successful Dutch designers. He is well known for his conceptual and playful designs. A true innovator, he has established himself as one of the leading international figures in his field, continuously pushing the boundaries of design.
Born in The Netherlands in 1967, Richard Hutten graduated of the Design Academy in Eindhoven in 1991, the same year he started his own design studio. With a team of experts he is working across furniture design and interior design. Many of his products have become successful design icons and are represented in renowned museums all over the world.
Playfulness is an important aspect of Richard Hutten work. Referring to ‘Homo Ludens or “Playing Man” by the Dutch historian and cultural theorist Professor Johan Huizinga, Richard Hutten’s designs are aiming to contribute to the importance of play as culture. Therefor his designs are not only beautiful but also optimistic and fun.
He is a key exponent of “Droog Design” in which he has been involved since it’s start in 1993, making him one of the main founders of the famous Dutch Design movement. Since 2008 is Richard Hutten the art director of Gispen, Hollands second largest and most famous furniture brand with an almost 100 years history.
His impressive list of clients are all leaders in their field and include Moooi, Muij, Offecct, Christofle, Artifort, Kvadrat, Moroso, Rabobank, Lloyd hotel, I+I Milano, DSM, Skultuna as well as Gemeentemuseum The Hague, OMA/Rem Koolhaas, MVRDV, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Karl Lagerveld and HRH Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.
His work is held in the permanent collections of over 40 museums around the world making him one of the most collected living designers. The list includes MoMA New York, Victoria & Albert Museum London, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Vitra Museum Weil am Rhein, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Design Museum London, Design Museum Gent, Stedelijk Museum ’s Hertogenbosch, Chicago Art Institute and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Winner of numerous international awards, such as the Red Dot Award, LAI interior award, Frame magazine / The great Indoors award and the German Design Award, his work has been extensively exhibited internationally including the MoMA New York, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Zuiderzee museum, Enkhuizen, Museum of Modern Art San Francisco, Design Museum Holon, Moti Museum Breda, Triennale Milan, Louisiana Museum Copenhagen, Übersee Museum Bremen, Alvar Aalto Museum Finland, Kunsthal Rotterdam.
His work has been extensively published around the globe including world leading magazines such as Domus, Abitare, Interni, New York Times, Washington Post, Wallpaper, Icon, Frame, Mark, The International Herald Tribune, Axis, Elle decoration and many others.
Selected solo exhibitions
- 2015
- Drawing Circles - Offecct, Stockholm, Sweden.
- 2013
- Richard Hutten in huis Sonneveld - Museum house Sonneveld, Rotterdam;
- Tokyo (De)coded - Gallery Van Krimpen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- 2011
- Bezeten van stoelen - Zuiderzee museum, Enkhuizen, The Netherlands.
- 2010
- 18 years of Playing - Museum Gent, Belgium;
- Richard Hutten - Krecky gallery, Prague, Czech.
- 2009
- Useful Art - Plus gallery, Milan, Italy;
- The playing man - Galery Roomservice, Barcelona, Spain.
- 2008
- Reflections - Gallery Ormond, Geneva, Switzerland;
- Swiss Layers -Gallery Facsimile, Milan, Italy.
- 2007
- Homo Ludens - Museum Kunsthal Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- Limited editions and special products - Galerie Vivid, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- DDE - Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- 2006
- Do touch - Museum Grand Hornu, Hornu, Belgium.
- 2005
- Mastering Form and Function - Fellisimo design House, New York, USA;
- Toys for Life - Axis gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
- 2004
- No sign of Design - Museum Sieboldhuis, Leiden, The Netherlands;
- Richard Hutten - Inart gallery, Osaka, Japan.
- 2003
- Dressing - Gallery Taxdorf, Berlin, Germany.
- 2002
- eVOLUTION oF oRDINARY oBJECT - Trans Gallery, Tokyo, Japan;
- Richard Hutten - Gallerie Binnen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Richard Hutten - CBK art center, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
- 2001
- Taking form, Making form - Felissimo house, New York, USA;
- Capital 4 - Galerie Vivid, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- Richard Hutten - Wise wise - Tokyo, Japan.
- 1998
- No Sign of Design - E&Y gallery, Tokyo, Japan;
- No Sign of design - Inart gallery, Osaka, Japan.
- 1994
- Tafels - Galerie Verzameld werk, Gent, Belgium.
- 1991
- No sign of design - Galerie Yksi, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
- 2016
- Design + Friends - Kunstgewerbe Museum, Dresden, Germany;
- Ceci n'est pas une copie - Musee Grand Hornu, Boussu, Belgium;
- HouseLife - Decorative Arts Museum, Bordeaux, France;
- Intersections - Adamuseum, Brussels, Belgium.
- 2015
- Zones des comfort - Galerie Poirel, Nancy, France;
- Design Derby - Designmuseum Genth, Gent, Belgium;
- Design Derby - Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- Design uit het land van de aardappeleters - Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands;
- Design Oracles - Centre nationale des Arts Plastiques, Paris, France.
- 2014
- Supermodels - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Gelinkt - Design Museum Gent, Gent, Belgium;
- Rijksstudio - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Designart - Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- 2013
- Hand Made - Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- New Originals - Space Gallery, Guangzhou, China;
- The Grand Hotel - Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada;
- Connecting Concepts - Museo de Arte Brasiliera, Soa paolo, Brasil;
- Spring - Peter and Paul Fortress Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia;
- Miniatuur Museum - Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, The Netherlands.
- 2012
- De collectie vormgeving - Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- XXSmall - Gemeente Museum, The Hague, The Netherlands.
- 2012
- 100 years of Dutch Graphic Design - Moti Museum, Breda, The Netherlands;
- Jongeren als Curator - Museum Waterland, Purmerend, The Netherlands;
- New Old - MIT, Pune, India;
- Connecting Concepts - Designhuis, Eindhoven, The Netherlands;
- Deep Surface: Contemporary Ornament and Pattern - CAM, Raleigh US;
- Dutch Design - Huis van Oranje, Paleis Oranienbaum, Germany;
- A Citylife - Expo Antwerp, Belgium;
- Design=Wzornictwo - Design Centrum Kielce, Poland;
- Say Hello, Wave Goodbye - Stedelijk Museum 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
- 2011
- Creative Junctions - National Art Museum of China, Beijing;
- Hergebruik - Museum Gorichem, The Netherlands;
- Via Milano - 10 years of Dutch Design - Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Temporary Stedelijk 2 - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Rollercoaster - Moti Museum, Breda, The Netherlands;
- New Olds - Design Museum Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel;
- Standard Deviations - MoMA, New York, USA;
- Spring - Designhuis Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
- 2010
- Norm=Vorm - Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, The Netherlands;
- Il segno dei designer - Triennale Milano, Italy;
- The state of Things - Design Museum Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel;
- Design aus de Niederlanden - Neue Sammlung, Munich, Germany;
- Shaping the New Century - High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA;
- Pioneren in Poort - Tijdelijk Museum, Almere, The Netherlands;
- Play/Forward - Gelerie Verzameld Werk, Gent, Belgium;
- Shaping the new century - Milwaukee Art Museum, USA;
- Blown to Life - Glasmuseum Leerdam, The Netherlands;
- Zitten op Gispen - Gispen Museum, Culemborg, The Netherlands.
- 2009
- European design since 1985: Shaping the new century - Indianapolis museum of Art, USA;
- Design with a smile - Design Museum Gent, Belgium;
- European design since 1985: Shaping the new century - Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA;
- 2008
- Limited/Unlimited - Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- Uitgelicht - Stedelijk Museum 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
- 2007
- Centerpieces - SM Stedelijk Museum, Den Bosch, The Netherlands;
- Nature Design - Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich, Switzerland.
- 2006
- NLA - Acme gallery, Los Angeles, USA;
- Simply Droog - Museum of Art and Design, New York, USA.
- 2005
- Nest - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Richard Hutten - Seoul design Festival, Seoul, South-Korea;
- Last exit to The Netherlands - Silvera, Paris, France;
- La Baguette - Mudac, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- 2004
- Reality Machines - Royal Castle, Warsaw, Poland;
- Kramer vs Rietvelt - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Sentieres Lumineux - Villa Noailles, Hyeres, France;
- Simply Droog - Haus de kunst, Munich, Germany.
- 2003
- Reality Machines - NAI architecture Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- Go Dutch - AAA, London, UK;
- The milking stool - Design Museum London, UK;
- Van Bakeliet tot composite - Design Museum Gent, Belgium;
- 2002
- Designing for kids - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Kunststof(f) - Broel Museum, Kortrijk, Belgium;
- Kids size interiors - Galerie Binnen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Kunststof(f) - Museum Martha Herord, Herford, Germany;
- Milan in a Van - Victoria & ALbert museum, London, UK.
- 2001
- Me, Myself and you - Kunsthal, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- Smash - Galery Neotu, Paris, France;
- Hidden - Gallery Schuppenhauwer, Cologne, Germany;
- Re-f-use - Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot pierement, Utrecht, The Netherlands;
- Smash - Design Museum London, UK.
- 2000
- Stand der Dinge - Museum für angewandte kunst, Cologne, Germany;
- Droog+Dutch Design - Ozone, Tokyo, Japan;
- Aperto Verto - Museo Correr, Venice, Italy.
- 1999
- Identity Crisis - The lighthouse, Glasgow, UK;
- Wonder Design - E&Y Gallery, Tokyo, Japan;
- Milan in Rotterdam - Gallery Vivid, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- 1998
- Do Normal - SFMoMA, San Francisco, USA;
- No Sign of Design - E&Y Gallery, Tokyo, Japan;
- Standpunten - Kunsthal, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- Plastic times - Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel;
- Empty space - Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväkylä, Finland.
- 1997
- Droog Design - Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands;
- Not so simple - Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK.
- 1996
- Thresholds - MoMA, New York, USA;
- Design I'm Wandel - Ubersee Museum, Bremen, Germany;
- Design Now! - Centre de design de l'Uquam, Montreal, Canada;
- Refuse - Centre for fine Arts, Miami, USA;
- Zelf producerende ontwerpers - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- 1995
- Design and Identity, Aspects of European Design - Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark;
- Droog Design - Kunsthal, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- 1994
- Design aus de Niederlanden - Museum für angewandte kunst, Cologne, Germany;
- A journey to Italy - Abitare il Tempo, Verona, Italy.
- 1993
- Droog Design - Milan, Italy.
Selected Museum Collections
- Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam - Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Museum Boymans van Beuningen - Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
- MoMA - New York, USA;
- SFMoMA - San Francisco, USA;
- Denver Art Museum - Denver, USA;
- Chicago Art Institute - Chicago, USA;
- Indianapolis Museum of Art - Indianapolis, USA;
- Victoria & Albert Museum - London, UK;
- Museum Grand Hornu - Hornu, Belgium;
- Design Museum London - London, UK;
- Design Museum Gent - Gent, Belgium;
- Centraal Museum Utrecht - Utrecht, The Netherlands;
- Textiel Museum - Tilburg, The Netherlands;
- Neue Sammlung - Munich, Germany;
- Vitra Design Museum - Weil am Rhein, Germany;
- Museum for Communication - The Hague, The Netherlands;
- Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Centre Pompidou - Paris, France;
- Ozone Art Museum - Tokyo, Japan;
- Stedelijk Museum 's Hertogenbosch - 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands;
- Museum fur Gestaltung - Frankfurt, Germany;
- Gemeentemuseum Den Haag - Den Haag, The Netherlands;
- Museum Gouda - Gouda, The Netherlands;
- Glasmuseum - Leerdam, The Netherlands;
- Vancouver Art Gallery - Vancouver, Canada;
- Gemeentemuseum - Zoetermeer, The Netherlands;
- Mudac - Lausanne, Switzerland;
- Gispen Museum - Culemborg, The Netherlands;
- Miniatuur Museum - The Hague, The Netherlands;
- Design Museum - Reykjavik, Iceland;
- Museum für Konkrete Kunst - Iglostadt, Germany;
- Designmuseum - Copenhagen, Denmark;
- Abet Laminati Museum - Bra, Italy;
- Fond National d’Art Contemporain - Paris, France;
- Triennale di Milano - Milan, Italy;
- Hangaram Design Museum - Seoul, South-Korea;
- Museum fur Gestaltung - Zurich, Switzerland;
- Museum do Design e da Moda - Lisbon, Portugal;
- Dutch Leather and Shoe Museum - Waalwijk, the Netherlands;
- Decorative Arts Museum - Bordeaux, France;
- Kunstgewerbe Museum - Dresden, Germany;
- Moti Museum - Breda, The Netherlands;
Clients
- Artifort
- Aybar Gallery
- Botel
- Covo
- Christofle
- David Design
- Droog
- DSM
- Dutch Originals
- Galerie Vivid
- Gemeentemuseum
- Ghidini 1961
- Gispen
- Hotel Management School Maastricht
- I and I
- Lande
- Lensvelt
- Lloyd Hotel
- Moooi
- Moroso
- Muji
- NLXL
- Offecct
- Palau
- Plus design Gallery
- Royal Dutch Post
- Royal Leerdam Crystal
- Qeeboo
- Sawaya&Moroni
- Skultuna
- Standard Hotels
- TU Delft
- Unicef / Miffy
- Zaozuo