Art (D)éco 1925
By Charlotte Stace
The exhibition Art (D)éco 1925 | 2025. Design, Mirroring Decorative Arts looks back at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris - the event that gave Art Deco its name - and connects it to today’s design culture. Bringing together around 200 objects and projects, it explores how the spirit of decorative art continues to influence contemporary design a century later.
Among the participants of the 1925 Exhibition was the Fomento de las Artes Decorativas (today’s FAD). It was invited to present a representative selection of Catalan decorative arts - the result was an outstanding display of creative talent. A century later, FAD marks the milestone by revisiting 1925’s material world and reflecting it through the lens of contemporary design.
It prompts reflection on how the concerns of the early 20th century - industrialisation, exotic materials, aesthetic modernity - have shifted. Today the questions ask: Who produces? How and where? How do we address resource scarcity, materials, and inequalities?