Pierre Chareau (1883-1950) rose from modest beginnings in Bordeaux to become one of the most sought after designers in France, and best known for his Maison de Verre (“Glass House”), a landmark building in Paris created in 1928 in collaboration with the Dutch architect Bernard Bijvoet and the metalworker Louis Dalbet. Creating custom furniture and interiors for an elite clientele that included leading figures of the French-Jewish intelligentsia, Chareau uniquely balanced the opulence of traditional French decorative arts with the clean lines and industrial materials of Modernism. Through his highly distinctive artistic language, Chareau established himself at the intersection of tradition and innovation, becoming a major figure in 20th century design.
Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design will be on view from November 4, 2016 – March 26, 2017, and is the third exhibition in the museum’s design trifecta, which began in March with “Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History” and continues on May 6 with the opening of “Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist.”
Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design proposes a fresh look at the internationally recognized designer in order to showcase his beautiful pieces in a fuller cultural context between the wars, highlighting his circle of influential patrons, engagement with the period’s foremost artists, and designs for the film industry. Chareau's active patronage of the arts—and his collection of paintings, sculptures, and drawings by significant artists such as Picasso, Braque, Lipchitz, Mondrian, Chagall, and Modigliani—will be another important aspect of the exhibition.
Chareau’s work, with the exception of the Maison de Verre, has remained in obscurity since his death, said Esther da Costa Meyer, a professor of modern architectural history at Princeton and the curator of this Jewish Museum exhibition.
The exhibition will also explore the enduring consequences of Chareau’s flight from Nazi persecution, the dispersal of many of his pieces during and after World War II, and his attempts to rebuild his career while in exile in New York during the 1940s. In 1950, Chareau proposed a solo show of his work at the Museum of Modern Art and was turned down. He died that same year.
Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design is organized by Esther da Costa Meyer, Professor, History of Modern Architecture, Princeton University, and Daniel S. Palmer, Leon Levy Assistant Curator, the Jewish Museum. The exhibition design by Diller Scofidio + Renfro — the architecture firm behind the High Line and Lincoln Center renovation — will in some ways aim to evoke the Maison de Verre.
