This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
In a surprising collaboration, the iconic French jewellery house Cartier partnered with the visionary Italian designer Ettore Sottsass for the Cartier Design Viewed by Ettore Sottsass exhibition. Presented from June 14 to September 15, 2002, at the Vitra Design Museum, the exhibition offered a compelling reinterpretation of Cartier’s heritage through Sottsass’s distinctive design philosophy. In doing so, it bridged French luxury with Italian postmodern sensibilities.
A landmark 2002 exhibition in which Ettore Sottsass reframed Cartier jewellery as design objects, prioritising form, colour, and composition over luxury value, and repositioning jewellery within the broader discourse of design history.
Cartier Design Viewed by Ettore Sottsass: Redefining Luxury Objects
The significance of the exhibition lay in its radical curatorial approach. Rather than presenting jewellery as symbols of wealth or status, Sottsass reframed over 200 Cartier objects as works of design. This perspective aligns closely with modern design thinking. For instance, movements such as the Bauhaus emphasise form, structure, and visual language rather than ornament alone.
Sottsass deliberately prioritised aesthetic experience over material value. As he stated, “Of an object in general, I tend to ignore everything except the design.” This curatorial stance reframed Cartier’s output within a broader design discourse. Consequently, the focus shifted from luxury consumption to visual intelligence, composition, and cultural meaning.
Cartier Exhibition: Design History and Craftsmanship
Beyond the objects themselves, the exhibition provided insight into Cartier’s design methodology. Visitors encountered video documentation of artisanal processes alongside enlarged preparatory drawings. These revealed the transformation from concept to finished object. Furthermore, this emphasis on process echoes the pedagogical principles seen in early modern design education. In that context, material understanding and experimentation were central to creative development.
Exhibition Details: Vitra Design Museum – Cartier Sottsass
- Dates: June 14, 2002 – September 15, 2002
- Location: Vitra Design Museum (Berlin exhibition venue)
- Address: Kopenhagener Strasse 58, Berlin, Germany
- Contact: +49 30 47377712 | [email protected]
- Website: www.design-museum.de
This exhibition demonstrates how curatorial design can redefine object meaning. By removing the emphasis on luxury value, Sottsass reveals jewellery as a system of form, colour, and symbolic communication—aligning it with architecture, industrial design, and visual culture.
Explore further: How does reframing luxury objects as design change our understanding of value? Consider how exhibitions like this influence contemporary approaches to collecting, display, and interpretation.
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