Lex Reitsma. 196 Posters for De Nederlandse Opera

24 years of poster design for De Nederlandse Opera

> Best Dutch Book Designs 2014

For 24 years, designer Lex Reitsma (1958) has been responsible for the graphic design of De Nederlandse Opera. This publication, which accompanies the exhibition ‘Opera at the Stedelijk. Lex Reitsma + Eiko Ishika’, shows the colourful history of this collaboration in 196 posters. It allows the reader to follow the designer's development as well as the history of the opera company’s productions. With a text by Frederike Huygen, this publication is an important contribution to the historiography of Dutch graphic design. In addition to the idiosyncratic posters, Reitsma’s work also includes designs for opera books, season brochures, programme folders, and the magazine Odeon.

Alongside his work as a designer, Reitsma is also active as a filmmaker. He has made the documentaries Jan Bons - ontwerpen in vrijheid (2008), Rietveld’s Chair (2011), The Style of the Stedelijk (2012), and The Gijs+Emmy Spectacle (2014).