At Mouvements Modernes’ invitation, we curated & designed an exhibition on the occasion of the gallery’s 20th birthday. A whimsical design of freestanding circular platforms and simple geometrical forms echo the poetics of 1980s designs through Pierre Staudenmeyer’s lens and the selection of artists and designers such as Martin Szekely, Jasper Morrison, Mattia Bonetti, Elizabeth Garouste and many others he chose to promote. The show happened in the gorgeous Salle Erard, a former 18th century private music venue.
An exhibition design celebrating the 20th anniversary of Galerie Mouvements Modernes, presenting on this occasion celebrated pieces by great designers of the 1980s alongside new works by a younger generation of artists in a variety of mediums.
The space for the event is a late 18th century private music venue in the historical heart of Paris, with floor to ceiling guilded decorations & frescoes. This offered a very strong background to show such radical pieces.
We opted to gently interrupt this decorative context by introducing platforms of pre-colored MDF cut in simple geometric shapes, slightly elevated from the floor and independently lit. Vertical geomtrical elements flag each pieces and create a rythm throughout the space.
Exhibition designs are projects limited in time and budget. In addition, as architects, we need to be mindful of the materials and efforts invested as, once the exhibition closed, the materials are disposed of. The materials used here are 100% recyclable and the lighting system reusable. Despite these challenges, our design evoques the ephemeral and poetics of the pieces shown.
Team:
Architects: studio razavi architecture
Photographer: Yohann Fontaine
