Biedermeier, from Craftsmanship to Design Exhibition 'til 14 January 2008 at Musée du Louvre

An invitation to a journey through political, social and cultural history, the Biedermeier style perfectly embodies the values of a new art of living between 1815 and 1848.

Exposition 18 october 2007 - 14 january 2008
Vienne and Prague, 1815-1830

An aesthetic trend descended from neoclassicism, the Biedermeier style developed in central Europe between 1815 and 1848, the period of peace following the Napoleonic Wars. The Biedermeier style was highly original, at once simple and full of imagination.


An invitation to a journey through political, social and cultural history, the Biedermeier style perfectly embodies the values of a new art of living between 1815 and 1848. The term
“Biedermeier” was derived from the name of a fictional character introduced to readers of a Munich satirical weekly in the 1840s. This everyman, Weiland Gottlieb Biedermaier (the
original spelling) by name, was the embodiment of the model citizen, leading an uneventful and comfortable existence, more concerned with his family and his own naïve attempts at poetry than politics. A nostalgic take on this way of life prevalent in Central Europe in the 19th century, Biedermeier came to describe a style that was cozy and stolid.


The aim of this exhibition is to underscore the singularity of this movement as a harbinger of many aspects of modern aesthetics, including the age of industrial design. The objects presented include furniture, silver, crystal and porcelain pieces, wallpapers and textile samples, together with depictions of interiors, botanical studies and a few paintings. The presentation of these furnishings and objects invites the visitor to consider them under a new light, as original creations notable for their shapes, surfaces and dimensions.

Conference at the auditorium du Louvre : Friday, October 26 2007 at 12:30am, Art History Lectures: Biedermeier and modernity, by Marc Bascou, exhibition curator , and Laurie Stein, art historian, Northfield, Etats-Unis.

Musée du Louvre,
www.louvre.fr
Sully Wing
Salle de la Chapelle
18 October 2007 - 14 January 2008
Admission included in the ticket to the permanent collections.

Getting to the Louvre
Metro: Palais-Royal - Musée du Louvre station.
Bus: The following bus lines stop in front of the Pyramid: 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, 95, and the Paris Open Tour bus.
Car: An underground parking garage is available for those coming by car. The entrance is located on avenue du Général Lemonnier. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Batobus: Get off at the Louvre stop, quai François Mitterrand.

The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Tuesday and the following holidays: January 1st, May 1st, May 8 and December 25, 2007.
It is open until 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday evenings except on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 (open until 6 p.m.).
Admission to the Louvre is free on the first Sunday of every month.
The Pyramid and Carrousel arcade entrances are open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., except Tuesday.
The Passage Richelieu is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesday.
The Porte des Lions entrance is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Tuesday and Friday

Paris VIA BERLIN GALERIE VIA PARIS - BERLIN 1987 - 2007

EXHIBITION @ VIA until December 16th, 2007.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the cultural co-operation agreement between Paris and Berlin, both capitals will be staging events this summer and autumn 2007. Among the wealth of projects, which include concerts and presentations of guest artists, the partner cities will be mounting in parallel two offbeat exhibitions. At the Murkisches Museum in Berlin, ‘Design Reference Paris' presents a panorama of Parisian design, from 20 September to 4 November 2007.
In Paris, « Le Berlin des Créateurs » gives a comprehensive overview of the design scene in Berlin and of the trends of the moment. The Paris show is at the VIA gallery (Valorisation de l'Innovation dans l'Ameublement) from 3 October to 16 December. Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë, with mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit, open both shows: ‘Design Reference Paris' in Berlin on 19 September, and « Le Berlin des Créateurs » in Paris on 2 October.

The ‘Berlin creators' show was mounted by Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH, working to a commission from the Lander of Berlin, and supported by the Deutsche Klassenlotterie foundation. Designers and their objects form the core of the show. According to design observers, the political and economic situation in Berlin has brought into being a climate that has stimulated young creators. Years of industrial regression (in West Berlin before the fall of the Wall, and both sides since then) have forced designers to look beyond the expectations and needs of industrial makers. This questioning of design focused on industrial imperatives has fostered new creation procedures that have a non-commercial bias.

The team behind Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH (Thomas Friedrich, Kathrin Kohle, Wolf Kuhnelt, Georg von Wilcken), backed by a group of experts (Atilano Gonzalez, Designmai / Professors Ralf Rautenberg and Helmut Staubach of the Kunsthochschule Wei§ensee / Professors Egon Chemaitis and Valeska Schmidt-Thomsen of the Universität der Künste, Berlin) selected 19 design agencies and fashion studios for « Le Berlin des créateurs » :
Object design:
Adam und Harborth / Studio Aisslinger / Julian Appelius / Delphin-Design / e27 / Fuchs und Funke / Hering Berlin / L.ufer und Keichel / Metrofarm / Osko und Deichmann / Barbara Schmidt (Kahla Porzellan)
Fashion:
Bless Office Berlin / c.neeon / Elena Kikina / Frank Leder / Pulver Studio / Karen Scholz und Joan Tarrag. Pampanola / Trippen GmbH

We are all berliners !

VIA - Valorisation de l'Innovation dans l'Ameublement
www.via.fr
Agora des créateurs
29, avenue Daumesnil - 75012 Paris
Tél : 01 46 28 11 11

exhibition open every day :
Monday to Friday 10 am – 1 pm / 2 pm – 6 pm
Saturday / Sunday 1 pm / 6 pm
Free admission