2024
Creating the kitchen, the pantry, the dining room, and the storage at the Oskar Schlemmer Master House, Bauhaus Dessau. Permanent. As part of the project of Gracious Hosts.

In my design, I sought to make a clear reference to Oskar Schlemmer’s formal language evident in his dances and ballets.

The kitchen was conceived as a kind of stage, with the cooking block situated at its centre, around which one ‘dances’ while cooking. The round table, with a glass turntable (‘Lazy Susan’) at its centre, was designed to resemble a kind of table ballet, with the dishes turning like actors. Furthermore, the materials were selected in accordance with Schlemmer’s dances and costumes. The kitchen block is constructed from silvery stainless steel, the sideboard is crafted from golden brass, the table is made of red-coloured glass, and the shelf features a construction of wooden sticks.

Oskar Schlemmer resided in the house with his family of five. The concept of a family residing in the house was of paramount importance to me, in addition to the artistic considerations. It was essential that the individual components be both aesthetically pleasing and functional. While the majority of guests will likely reside in the house individually or as a couple, I aimed to create an ambience that would evoke the feeling of a family living there. (JY)

The first residents of the Meisterhaus were the painter and stage designer Oskar Schlemmer, his wife Tut and their children Karin, Jaina and Tilman. After he left the Bauhaus in September 1929, Alfred Arndt and his wife Gertrud moved into the ground floor in January 1930 following the first structural alterations, while Joost Schmidt and his wife Helene Schmidt-Nonne moved into the first floor. The Schmidt family used the studio as living space until both families moved out in 1933. After the Bauhaus members moved out, the Masters’ Houses were rented out and its heavily changed.

Within the frame of Gracious Hosts, the artists engaged on different levels with this historically charged place and its eventful history, with its functions and uses. The aspect of hospitality was central: people and objects are received, welcomed, and brought together – guided by recognition, respect, and attention – not least for the building.

The Masters’ Houses and their furnishings have always been objects of utility and display. Gracious Hosts continues in this vein – the furnishings are used by the residency artists of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. When the house is not occupied, it can be visited as part of a guided tour. (Bauhaus Dessau Foundation)