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Design and industrial prospective

The Design and Industrial Prospective collection of the Mnam-Cci was part of the Centre de Création Industrielle until it merged with the Musée national d'art moderne (Mnam) in 1992. Founded in 1969, the Cci’s aim was to forge a link between design and industry, through the sociology of usage and innovation.

 

The design collection currently comprises around 8,000 works, designed by almost 900 artists and dating from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. The collection is centred around the creation process and showcases not only objects but also the way they were designed, through drawings and other design elements. This collection traces the research methods of the creators - architects and graphic designers - who helped forge the history of modernity in the 20th century and who have opened new doors to creation and technique in the 21st century.

Exceptional modern collections have been brought together around the U.A.M. movement (French Union of Modern Artists, 1929) with, amongst others, works by Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Chareau, Eileen Gray, Jean Prouvé and Robert Mallet-Stevens. The collection also contains international works, representing the Bauhaus, the De Stijl movement, Eastern and Central European countries and Japan.

 

The most important collection of post-war design is that of Ettore Sottsass Jr., which contains over 500 works and exceptional archives. Serge Mouille is represented through an entire collection (over 150 pieces) and Pierre Paulin through an ensemble of 70 drawings, amongst others. Industrial colourists from the 1960s and 1970s are also represented through significant collections (Jean-Philippe Lenclos, André Lemonnier, Cler, Fillacier Grillo, etc.)

 

Internationally, the design collection includes works by Ron Arad, Jasper Morrison, Marcel Wanders and Ross Lovegrove, as well as over 300 pieces by the French designer Starck. Ensembles have been created around certain French designers, such as Patrick Jouin, Martin Székely, Matali Crasset, François Azambourg or Jean-Baptiste Fastrez.

 

We will also mention graphic designers such as Jean Widmer and Hans-Jürg Hunziker who have been linked to the graphic history of the Centre Pompidou, Roman Cieslewicz and Thonik, along with a collection of over 2,000 posters by 300 graphic designers (donated by Vincent Perrottet).

 

Thanks to the CCI, industrial prospective has left its mark on the collection of the Centre Pompidou and has turned it towards new, constantly evolving sociological and technological fields. The prospective collection has rekindled the transdisciplinary vocation of the CCI, encompassing the technological and environmental aspects of our contemporary society, from digital conception and design to bio-manufacturing. With this in mind, the CCI commissions works from young designers (Matthias Bengtsson, Michael Hansmeyer, Eric Klarenbeek, etc.).