Design with a smile

While surrealism may be mainly known as a literary and fine arts movement, the influence this 20th-century art movement has had in other domains is not to be underestimated. The world of design and contemporary design are no strangers to a healthy dose of surreal humour either. Forms with a smile gathers designs and objects by modern surrealists and demonstrates that nothing is as it appears. Hairy rugs, lamps shaped like milk bottles, USB sticks carved from wooden branches or sofas made from stuffed cuddly toys. Is it purely humour? Or is it a titillating statement wrapped in an infectious smile? As with surrealism, design sometimes tells us more than we think. Armed with subtle irony, these new surrealists take to the battlefield in a world where gravity reigns supreme.