DESIGNERS AND CREATORS OF THE 80S-90S

In line with the works on decorators of the 40s, 50s and 60s/70s, this book immerses us in the world of the 80s/90s. These decades witnessed unprecedented experiments in the world of design and architecture, those of an era where beauty and classic elegance gave way to a multitude of expressions that escape any classification and any hierarchy. Composed of a rich introduction which gives a synoptic vision and thirty-eight monographs which describe its multiple faces, this book makes an exceptionally creative period intelligible and reveals its formidable aesthetic richness through abundant and often unpublished iconography.

With the advent of post-modernism, a new generation of designers stood out, among them Shiro Kuramata, Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Bob Wilson, Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti. They all regenerated creation by refusing the elitism of their predecessors and favoring the use of new materials. Some turned to salvage, like the Creative Salvage group, who offered inventive and provocative furniture through welding and assembly. Others, gathered in Italy around Ettore Sottsass and Memphis, combined unexpected colors and patterns with the playful use of plastic laminate. Among architects, new building concepts were emerging, as well as the use of materials intended to last, such as glass. Sliding to the end of the 90s, the achievements presented in this book mark the desire for a dialogue between artistic references with a new relationship to the industrial aspect, at the dawn of the 21^st century and its technological innovations.

Text in French and English