Pierre Chareau

The intersection of tradition and innovation. 

The Jewish Museum will present the first U.S. exhibition focused on French designer and architect Pierre Chareau (1883–1950) from November 4, 2016 through March 26, 2017. Showcasing rare furniture, lighting fixtures, and interiors, as well as designs for the extraordinary Maison de Verre, the Glass House completed in Paris in 1932, Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design brings together over 180 rarely-seen works from major public and private collections in Europe and the United States.

Pierre Chareau rose from modest beginnings in Bordeaux to become one of the most sought-after designers in France. Creating custom furniture and interiors for a distinguished clientele that included leading figures of the French-Jewish intelligentsia, Chareau balanced the opulence of traditional French decorative arts with interior designs that were elegant, functional, and in sync with the requirements of modern life. His innovative furniture, veneered in rare woods with occasional touches of exotic materials, had clean profiles and movable parts that appealed to the sensibilities of the progressive bourgeoisie.

Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design proposes a fresh look at the internationally recognized designer and examines his work in the Parisian cultural context between the wars to highlight his circle of influential patrons, engagement with the period’s foremost artists, and designs for the film industry. Chareau and his wife were keenly interested in contemporary art, and the exhibition reunites several pieces from their collection of paintings, sculptures, and drawings by significant artists such as Piet Mondrian, Amedeo Modigliani, Max Ernst, Jacques Lipchitz, and Robert Motherwell.

The exhibition also explores the enduring consequences of Chareau’s flight from Nazi persecution, the dispersal of many of the works he designed during and after World War II, and his attempts to rebuild his career while in exile in New York during the 1940s, including the house he designed for Robert Motherwell in 1947 in East Hampton, Long Island.

Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design is organized by the Jewish Museum and Esther da Costa Meyer, Professor, History of Modern Architecture, Princeton University, in collaboration with The Centre Pompidou. 
The special exhibition design is by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. 

Related public programs

Lecture: Pierre Chareau's Maison de Verre
The Saul and Harriet M. Rothkopf Media Program
Thursday, November 17, 6:30pm
Kenneth Frampton, The Ware Professor of Architecture, Columbia University, GSAPP, provides insight into the Maison de Verre, the signature building in Paris designed by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet. 
This program has been funded by a generous donation endowment from the Saul and Harriet M. Rothkopf Family Foundation.
Tickets

Bang on a Can presents Bonjour
Thursday, February 16, 7:30pm
Founded by bassist and composer Florent Ghys, Bonjour combines cello, guitar, percussion, and vocals to create an unusual and edgy sound beyond the arena of “new classical” music.
Tickets

Adult studio workshop: Design Impressions
Thursdays, January 26, February 2 and 9, 5:30–8pm
Taught by artist Allyson Vieira and inspired by the architecture and design in the exhibition, class participants translate Chareau’s modern vision of integrated spatial and decorative forms into mixed media works.
Course fee includes all materials

Gallery talks
Discussions related to the exhibition led by Jewish Museum educators.
Free with Museum admission; RSVP recommended

Interior Innovations
Fridays, November 18, February 10 and 24, and March 10, 2pm

Collecting Modern Art
Fridays, December 9, February 17, March 3 and 17, 2pm

 

Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design is made possible by The Jerome L. Greene Foundation.

Generous support is also provided by The Peter Jay Sharp Exhibition Fund, The Grand Marnier Foundation, Tracey and Robert Pruzan, Susan and Benjamin Winter, Design Within Reach, Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Selz Foundation, and UOVO. Additional funds are provided through the Leon Levy Foundation.

The interactive visitor experience made possible by Bloomberg Philanthropies. 

The Jewish Museum gives special thanks to the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. 

Public programs are made possible by endowment support from the William Petschek Family, the Trustees of the Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Foundation, Barbara and Benjamin Zucker, the late William W. Hallo, the late Susanne Hallo Kalem, the late Ruth Hallo Landman, the Marshall M. Weinberg Fund, with additional support from Marshall M. Weinberg, the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation, Inc., the Saul and Harriet M. Rothkopf Family Foundation, and Ellen Liman. Additional support is provided by Lorraine and Martin Beitler and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.