fondation louis vuitton presents 'charlotte perriand: inventing a new world' in paris

from 2 october 2019 to 24 february 2020, fondation louis vuitton in paris presents the exhibition charlotte perriand: inventing a new world, dedicating the entire frank gehry building to the visionary french architect and designer. marking the twentieth anniversary of her passing, the exhibition presents charlotte perriand’s extraordinary, free and independent career, paying tribute to her through a display of her work exploring the links between art, architecture and design.

la maison au bord de l’eau, 1934
artist credit © adagp, Paris, 2019, image © fondation louis vuitton / marc domage

for the first time since its opening in 2014, the fondation louis vuitton is dedicating its entire building to a single designer, charlotte perriand, who, from the 1920s to the beginning of the 21st century, contributed to the definition of a new art de vivre (art of living) through her works. an independent woman, pioneer of modernity, and leading figure of the 20th century design, perriand was socially, artistically and politically active on a daily basis, while her creations presaged current conversations about the roles of women and nature in our society. though she is best known for her contributions to the field of design, her works often transcended the boundaries between design, architecture, urban planning, crafts, and fine arts, without neglecting their humanistic and economic aspects.

charlotte perriand, le corbusier, pierre jeanneret – un équipement intérieur d’une habitation – salon d’automne 1929
image © fondation louis vuitton / david bordes

charlotte perriand: inventing a new world spreads across all the four levels of the foundation’s galleries, presenting a chronological route that combines her work with that of her close friends, including pieces by robert delaunay, simon hantaï, alexander calder, pablo picasso, henri laurens and fernand léger. the exhibition begins by tracing her collaboration with le corbusier and pierre jeanneret during her early years (1927-29), and with fernand léger in the 1930s when she, aware of the limits of progress and technology, imagines a ‘raw art’ inspired by nature.

collier roulement à billes chromées, 1927
image © adagp, paris, 2019 © AChP

other parts of charlotte perriand: inventing a new world explore her crucial stay in japan from 1940 to 1941, her co-founding of the movement useful forms, and her 1955 synthesis of the arts proposal in tokyo, where she presented, alongside her own works, those of le corbusier and fernard léger. in paris, galerie steph simon showcases her pieces of furniture and her ‘art of living’, while her stay in rio at the beginning of the 1960s allowed her to further enrich her imagination. her love of the mountains is also reflected in several of her creations, from the ‘refuge tonneau’ to the ski resort of les arcs in savoie. the exhibition goes as far as to immerse the spectator into historical reconstructions, including: the apartment-cum-studio on place saint-sulpice (1927), the salon d’automne (1929), the maison du jeune homme (1935), the maison au bord de l’eau (1934), the refuge tonneau (1938) and the maison de thé for UNESCO (1993).

charlotte perriand, rené herbst, louis sognot – maison du jeune homme, exposition universelle de bruxelles, 1935
image © fondation louis vuitton / marc domage

anonyme, charlotte perriand panneau mural en toile et broderie avec la reproduction du dessin d’enfant réalisée par saburô hasegawa, 1941
© adagp, paris, 2019 © shizuka suzuki / AChP