After the destruction of the First World War, the 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs was meant to be a big international show that showed a new spirit of progress. Most of the exhibits were well-known and conservative, but the building by Le Corbusier and the Russian Pavilion by Melnikov’s stood out. These two examples gave people a look into the future. They showed how the new architecture of the 20th century would look.
L’Esprit Nouveau
The Pavillion was named after Le Corbusier’s magazine, L’Esprit Nouveau, which he started in 1920 to spread the word about his work and that of other artists of the time. Le Corbusier put a prototype on the grounds of the 1925 Exposition. He did this to show that an interior could be standardised while meeting people’s needs. The interior space is known for its free plan, or “une surface pour circuler” in Le Corbusier’s words, instead of a series of separate box rooms. The top floor is a mezzanine, which gives you a view of the white space below. Le Corbusier doesn’t divide the space with solid walls. Instead, he uses furniture and sliding screens to create different areas.
Glimpse into the Future
The Pavilion’s contents were equally radical. Some of the furniture, such as the steel cabinets and tubular steel-framed tables, was created by Le Corbusier himself. His interior design style reflected his conviction that certain items, like laboratory glassware and porcelain, English club chairs, and Thonet bentwood chairs, had been perfected by industry to their ideal state. All of them are Le Corbusier’s perfect standard solutions for sitting, living, and entertaining in comfort. Paintings by Leger, Ozenfant, and Le Corbusier himself, as well as sculptures by Laurens and Lipchitz, show that Le Corbusier was also interested in art.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
Art books – Amazon
* This website may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on links at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon and Sovrn affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
More Design Exhibitions
-
Pavilion de l’Esprit Nouveau (1925) Looking into the Future
L’Esprit Nouveau. The pavillion was named after Le Corbusier’s magazine, L’Esprit Nouveau, which he started in 1920 to spread the word about his own work and that of other artists of the time.Read More →
-
Panama–Pacific International Exposition- San Francisco 1915
The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a World Fair held in San Francisco, California, USA, from February 20 to December 4,Read More →
-
Ideal Home Exhibition (est. 1908) Aspirational British Design
The Daily Mail newspaper sponsored the Ideal Home Exhibition (from 1908). These shows provide an insight into popular taste and aspiration across all facets of domestic design and organisation in Britain.Read More →
-
Henry Cole (1808 – 1882) British design education leader
Henry Cole was a significant force in 19th-century British design education, emphasising its importance to industry. He was also instrumental in the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the founding of the Journal of Design.Read More →
-
Milan Triennial X – 1954 – Prefabrication Industrial Design
The Milan Triennial X was the Triennial in Milan sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE)on 5 November 1953. Its theme was Prefabrication – Industrial Design. It was held at the Palazzo dell’Arte and ran from 28 August 1954 to 22 November 1954.Read More →
-
Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (1925)
Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes was a vital exhibition that gave its name to ‘Art Deco,’ a rich vein of design across a wide range of applications, from cinemas to ceramics, textiles and tableware, and graphics to graphs.Read More →
-
Benno Premsela (1920 – 1997) Dutch textile and exhibition designer
Benno Premsela (1920 – 1997) was a Dutch textile and exhibition designer. He studied interior design at the Nieuwe Kunstschool, Amsterdam. Read More →
-
Milan Triennial XII (1960) – School and Home
On May 5th, 1959, the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) authorised the Milan Triennial XII. The Palazzo dell’Arte served as its location, and it lasted from July 16th to November 4th, 1960. School and Home was the theme.Read More →
-
XII Triennale 1960 – Home and School
It is referred to as the world’s most important cultural exhibit. The 1960 Triennale was the 12th to be held since 1930, and was created around the themes, “Home and School.” It was held during the middle to the “Cold War, and nations from both sides of the ‘Iron Curtain’ were exhibiting by invitation.Read More…
-
Salon d’Automne exhibitions Paris, France
The founders of the Salon d’Automne were a collective of artists and writers, including Eugène Carrière, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Rouault, Édouard Vuillard, Joris-Karl Huysmans and Émile Verhaeren…Read More →
-
‘Exposition Universelle’ Paris 1900
The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world’s fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next. It was held at the esplanade of Les Invalides, the Champ…
-
Javier Mariscal (b.1950) Spanish designer and Graphic Artist
Javier Mariscal is a Spanish designer. He was born in Valencia. He is professionally active in Barcelona. He studied at the Escuela de Grafismo Elisava, Barcelona, to 1971.Read More →
-
Festival of Britain 1951 – Post War Morale Builder
The Festival of Britain (FOB) was seen both as a public morale booster and an opportunity to remind the world of Britain’s contribution to civilisation, history, and technological development in the past, present, and future. It took place on the South Bank of the River Thames. The Council of Industrial Design (COID) provided an essential…
-
American Designers’ Gallery (1928) Design Group -Decorative Arts
The American Designer’s Gallery was founded in New York in 1928 to promote high aesthetic standards in the modern decorative arts and support designers’ professional standing. Its headquarters were located at the gallery of interior designer and decorator Paul Frankl.Read More →
-
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969) German architect and designer
Between 1905 and 1907, he worked as an apprentice to architect and furniture designer Bruno Paul in Berlin, where he studied wooden furniture design. He created furniture for all of his early homes, including the Werner residence.Read More →
-
A Century of Progress International Exposition – Chicago 1933 – 1934
An exhibition summary noted that the nation, “then still mired in the malaise of the Great Depression, could glimpse a happier not-too-distant future, all driven by innovation in science and technology.” Fair visitors saw the new wonders in rail travel, cars, architecture, and robots that smoke cigarettes. The Fair “emphasised technology and progress, a utopia,…
-
The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne 1937
From 25 May to 25 November 1937, the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (International Art and Technology Exhibition in Modern Life) was held in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, which houses the Musée de l’Homme and the Palais de Tokyo, which houses the Musée d’Art Moderne de la…
-
End of WWII a revolution in furniture design
End of WWII a revolution in furniture design. Womb and shell chairs, biomorphic tables, cat’s cradle pedestals, and architectural shapes are reminiscent of the Second World War’s fertile furniture design era.Read More →
-
Gothenburg, Sweden Exhibition (1923)
The Gothenburg Tercentennial Jubilee Exhibition (Swedish Jubileumsutställningen I Göteborg) was a world fair held in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1923, marking the 300th anniversary of the city’s establishment. The fair, which opened on 8 May, lasted until 30 September.Read More →
-
Design Festivals
Design exhibitions and festivals from around the world that you need to know about.Read More →
-
Design Shanghai trade show returns with focus on regenerative design
Design Shanghai returns to present a host of Chinese and international brands alongside a cultural programme exploring how design can have a positive impact on people and the planet. Taking place from 3 to 6 June at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, Design Shanghai will present over 400 local and international brands…
-
Montreal’s Expo 67 Kindle Edition by Bill Cotter
In 1967, Canada celebrated its 100th anniversary with a spectacular party to which the entire world was invited. Expo 67 in Montreal was Canada’s first world’s fair, and it was a huge success, attracting over 50 million visitors.Read More →
-
Fashion Photos to Get Spotlight at Les Arts Décoratifs Exhibition
Some of the most iconic fashion photographs of all time, including Horst P. Horst’s 1991 image of a model inRead More →
-
Black Mountain College art exhibit
Connecting Legacies: A First Look at the Dreier Black Mountain College Archive” features archival objects from the Theodore Dreier Sr. Document Collection presented alongside artworks from the Asheville Art Museum’s Black Mountain College Collection to explore the connections between artworks and ephemera. Read More →
-
The NY Public Library’s Collection of Weird Objects
On March 28, 1941, Virginia Woolf took her final walk to the River Ouse near her home in Sussex. She did it with her trusty cane in her hand, the very cane that can be seen in the video above in New Yorker alongside other Woolf-related artefacts. Its five minutes provide a brief introduction to…
-
Saint-Gobain French glass and crystal manufacturer
Saint-Gobain is a French glass and crystal manufacturer that is located Chapelle St.-Mesmin. Saint-Gobain produced a basic glass design intended for picnics and sold throughout the world for general use. One of its more unique and widely published products was the 1937 illuminated glass radiator by Rene Coulon, who was instrumental in establishing the Institut…
-
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts) is a museum dedicated to the exhibition and conservation of decorative arts. Located at 107 Rue de Rivoli in the city’s 1st arrondissement, the museum occupies the northwest wing of the Palais du Louvre, known as the Pavillon de Marsan (Marsan Pavilion). With more than one…
-
Vitra Design Museum
The Vitra Design Museum ranks amongst the world’s leading design museums in Weil am Rhein, Germany . It is concerned with the study and presentation of design, past and present. It explores the relationship of design with architecture, art and everyday culture.Read More →
-
Georges Braque as seen in the “Cubism: Continuing Tradition Exhibition – 1955
Among the ideas that have influenced the painting of the last 100 years, perhaps the most important has been Cubism. The name was attached as an epithet to the efforts of a group of painters in Paris.Read More →
-
Exhibition: Chicago – A Designed Life
Design Museum of Chicago A Designed Life: Contemporary American Textiles, Wallpapers, and Containers & Packaging, 1951–1954 Coming in 2021 TheRead More →
-
Exhibition – Beth Lipman: Collective Elegy
Museum of Arts and Design – NY Beth Lipman: Collective Elegy Through April 4, 2021 Beth Lipman has been transformingRead More →
-
Exhibition NY – Brian Clarke: The Art of Light
Museum of Arts and Design – NY Brian Clarke: The Art of Light Through Feb 21, 2021 British artist BrianRead More →
-
Frieze New York 2021 at the Shed
Frieze New York 2021 at The Shed This is a time for creativity, flexibility and collaboration, all of which haveRead More →
-
‘HEALING’ – Perrotin presents new exhibition
In the context of Bubblewrap, Healing examines the multifaceted and quirky universe that is Takashi Murakami’s Superflat and the far-reaching and profound influence of Japanese ceramic art. Where art in the West is focused on the distinctions between ‘highbrow’ and ‘lowbrow’ culture,’ original’ and ‘derivative,’ art ‘and’ product,’ Superflat is a distinct lineage of contemporary…
-
The Frick Collection – Online Exhibitions You May Have Missed
The Frick Museum is housed in the former residence of the Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Clay Frick the Frick Museum has a fine collection of Italian and French Renaissance furniture and breathtaking paintings by such famous artist as Rembrandt, Goya, Ingres and Monet.Read More →
-
Photo London Digital 2020
This event usually takes place at Somerset House, however, due to the coronavirus outbreak it is now taking place online. Experience the best contemporary photography from across the globe, as nearly 100 galleries from various different countries come together for series of online events and exhibitions as part of Photo London Digital.Read More →