Contemporains
March 7th
︎︎︎ April 4th, 2026
Exhibitions always begin with anecdotes. Perhaps they are, themselves, anecdotes to which we attach too much importance. A few months ago, the Swedish design and architecture magazine The New Era Magazine commissioned us to write an article on contemporary Swedish design. We were delighted to do so, because we love it. There is something unique about this design and the Swedish approach. At the end of the article, two questions arose: why are French people suddenly giving their interpretation of design in a foreign country? And above all, what is happening here in France? We are not particularly known for defending the idea of national design, but still, we are French and we live in France. So here's a good reason to look at what's happening around us, right next door, and which concerns us right now.
Contemporains. As an exhibition title, it could hardly be clearer. But what is Contemporains? It is not a manifesto, even if an institution (which does not exist in France) could have made it one, but it is a little bit like that. Contemporains brings together 11 designers who live, permanently or otherwise, on French territory, who may not necessarily have attended French schools, but who all have links to France. So much for the nationalist aspect. As for the creative aspect, there are no guidelines, just a selection, choices that we have made. It is therefore an initial selection, which is inevitably partial and biased. There are some absentees; it's difficult to be exhaustive. We forget or we leave things out, whether deliberately or not. We are not infallible. In any case, it's our choice. It's worth what it's worth. How did we choose? Based on our interest in the objects designed, what they convey and what they tell us. We will surely draw a formal line, common qualities, based on our perspective and taste. But what is certain is that all the participants are designers and produce objects that we can live with and that help us in our everyday lives. The objects on display are all usable. Contemporains therefore features items that could potentially be part of our current lives, such as side tables, chairs, armchairs, mirrors, shelves, lamps and even kitchen utensils.
Because while it's easy to be seduced by a chair with a sculptural look, it comes at a certain price due to the work involved in making it. But what if you want six of them, and you want to use them every day without paying too much attention to them? Will we go to large furniture stores or second-hand websites to buy good old chairs by Arne Jacobsen or Thonet? While the latter may perfectly suit our everyday lives, do they not also convey a certain nostalgia and mistrust of our contemporary world? Later in life, won't we feel that we have missed out on the society we were part of? With a tear in our eye. Perhaps we should stop looking back too much and be Contemporains. Let's buy from the living what they design, thinking about how we are going to use it.
Photos : © Yann Bohac / A1043
