Atelier A: When Artists Designed Furniture (1969-1975)

The exhibition 'Atelier A, la rencontre de l'art et de l'objet' at Galerie du VIA in Paris (September 5 to December 21, 2003) revisits the short-lived collective Atelier A, founded by François Arnal in 1969 and dissolved in 1975. The group brought together artists including Arman, César, Alain Jacquet, Annette Messager, and Bernar Venet to create functional design objects, with a manifesto written by Pierre Restany. Despite the ambition to produce industrially, none of the objects reached mass production, marking the project as an avant-garde failure. The exhibition displays key pieces such as Arnal's soft black sculptures that inspired the venture, Pierre Cazenave's luminous stones, and pop-influenced items like the Dent table by Jean-Marie and Marthe Simonnet, the Fesses armchair by Roy Adzak, and neon lamps. Notable successes include Arman's Tambour armchair and Jean-Michel Sanejouand's Symétrique rocking chair, alongside curiosities like César's Mao bust ashtray. A companion publication by Françoise Jollant Kneebone and Chloé Braunstein (éd. Norma) provides a comprehensive reference with texts and interviews with key figures such as Andrée Putman and Catherine Millet. The exhibition argues that this forgotten experiment was a historical milestone in the art-design intersection, predating the current trend of artists working as designers.