Schoolyard is one of the designers featured in the new show at the Design Exchange in Toronto.

Bent Out of Shape celebrates Canada’s rich industrial design history from 1945 to the present.  The exhibition is devoted to showing the Design Exchange’s permanent collection through the lens of material, method, technology, identity and transformation.  In doing so Bent Out of Shape will illustrate rapid political, technological, and social changes which burst forth following WWII and moving toward modernity.

The public will be granted access to the Design Exchange’s permanent collection, which spans over six decades and covers more than four hundred industrial design objects and archival materials.  Items on display will include furniture, housewares, textiles, electronics, and lighting.  The design context and process will be shown through supporting archival documents.  The exhibition will also feature outstanding contemporary achievements in industrial design from new Canadian designers.  The juxtaposition between historical objects and contemporary designs will present a unique opportunity to trace trends in Canadian design, the evolution of materials and design thinking, and forthcoming practices.