Located in the heart of this neighborhood, at Marsella #59, Vitrina arose from the desire to create a design-focused exhibition space that goes beyond commercial interests. Inspired by early 20th-century department store window displays, this exhibition fosters a dialogue between designers, pedestrians, and the neighborhood regarding recent trends in the design scene and how each designer expresses their vision.
Vitrina features a 1.60m x 3.60m street-facing window and a 35-square-meter area enclosed by a 2.30m-high curtain, aiming to serve as a transitional space between the street and the interior, design and the user, and the pedestrian and the city. Every six weeks, the work of two designers or collectives will be presented, fostering a dialogue or a conceptual confrontation.
Twice a year, during cultural events, the space will host non-profit installations by guest designers and artists. As part of the annual program, the first edition of Vitrina featured Sofía Ordaz presenting her brand, Serpentine. For this second edition, an exhibition showcasing the work of the design studio Inside Outside, led by Petra Blaisse, is opening. Learn more about the exhibition below:
Vitrina Second Edition
Rifletutti by Inside Outside / Petra Blaisse
Inside Outside / Petra Blaisse is a design studio whose primary interest is intrinsic to its name: the design of the outside, the inside, and the relationship between them. Inside and outside can be separated by a physical, political, imaginary, or invented border. Today, a glass pane, as in this showcase window, creates tension between the observer and the observed, between the object and the city, and between interior and exterior spaces.
The pieces (parasols) presented here by Inside Outside / Petra Blaisse are part of an exhibition titled Rifletutti, first shown at Villa Manin in 2005. The parasols act as personal pavilions, reflecting both inward and outward. The observer becomes an active participant, and Rifletutti transforms the existing environment into a mobile private atmosphere, distorting the observed and shifting reality into a new experience.
Additionally, a sample of the carpet used in the Seattle Public Library is on display, representing an artificial nature that prompts reflection on the domestication of nature and what happens when the outside is transformed and brought indoors. In both cases, the everyday landscape is modified to create a new domestic experience.
Inside/Outside Petra Blaisse
Petra Blaisse began her career in 1978 at the Stedelijk Museum in the Applied Arts department. Since 1986, she has worked in exhibition design, earning wide recognition for her installations and architectural projects. Gradually, her focus shifted toward the use of textiles, light, and finishes in interiors, alongside garden and landscape design.
In 1991, she founded Inside Outside, which specializes in interior and landscape design. The studio introduces a flexible approach to architecture and spatial composition, working with soft, pliable—and sometimes living—materials that create movement and changing effects.
Their tools: sound, light, climate, and the effects of time. For each commission, the architectural and cultural context is carefully studied before developing design concepts.
The studio's primary focus lies in creating dynamic environments, both inside and outside, ideally establishing a connection between the two. For them, interdisciplinary collaboration and clear communication are key.
This event was held as part of Mextrópoli.
This article was written by Mónica Arellano. The translation is powered by AI.
