New York|Paris…Demisch Danant is pleased to announce that its new gallery in New York City will open to the public on September 17, 2016, with the inaugural exhibition made in France. The show will present a selection of more than two dozen rare and important objects that together trace the parallel and often intertwined narratives of French design of the 1960s and 1970s. The exhibition is intended to shed light on an extraordinary period in which the inventiveness of designers in post-war France shaped taste in the 20th century — and continue to do so today. made in France will also offer insights into the ways in which the gallery’s longtime intensive research, scholarship, and discoveries have catalyzed connoisseurship and expanded understanding and appreciation for modern design among private and institutional collectors.
The new home of Demisch Danant, located at 30 West 12th Street in the heart of the Greenwich Village Historic District, has been designed by Rafael de Cárdenas, founder and principal of the firm Architecture at Large, New York, and recently named Maison & Objet Designer of the Year.
Curated by gallery principals Suzanne Demisch and Stephane Danant, made in France will remain on view through October 29th. The exhibition kicks off a year of programming under the same title, in which Demisch Danant will continue to present exciting new acquisitions, chronicle the evolution of French design history, and illuminate the ways in which that history gets made. Among offerings of this inaugural year made in France program will be the exhibition Maria Pergay: Wonder-Room, opening in November 2016; a project focused upon Pergay’s extensive archive of sketchbooks; a 2017 exhibition of seminal works by Étienne Fermigier (1932-1973); and a series of talks and panels on key topics in the realm of French design and its relationship to contemporary culture and taste.
Filling the new Demisch Danant space at 30 West 12th Street, the inaugural exhibition made in France will trace new narratives in design history by showcasing quintessential works alongside more recent discoveries. Among works on view will be important historical pieces by Étienne Fermigier and pathbreaking French lighting firm Verre Lumiere, as well as lesser-known objects by such well-established figures as Maria Pergay, Joseph André Motte, and Pierre Paulin. made in France will also spotlight exceptional works by artists Sheila Hicks and César, whose innovative, multi-disciplinary mergers of sculpture and design are increasingly prominent in the Demisch Danant program.
made in France will be accompanied by an extensively illustrated catalogue featuring texts in which Suzanne Demisch and Stephane Danant offer personal recollections and insights into the specific contributions of the designers whose work they advocate and exhibit.