Most of my Canadian friends are pretty funny, and during a crack-fight when one of them comes up with a zinger that shuts you up, as an American the fallback position is to tease them about living in America's shadow. It's admittedly low-hanging fruit, like blurting out "Well you're just a big fat jerk," and it means you lost the insult war.

In any case, I like Canada and even though it's not in their nature, I do enjoy seeing a little Canadian pride. So I'm psyched to see they're holding an exhibit called Bent out of Shape: Canadian Design 1945 - Present at Design Exchange, Canada's Toronto-based design center and museum.

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.

Bent out of Shape opens on July 16th and runs through October.