Charlotte Perriand: Living Modern

With the exhibition Charlotte Perriand: Living Modernism, the Museum der Moderne Salzburg is dedicating the first major retrospective in Austria to the French architect and designer. The exhibition encompasses her work in the fields of architecture, design, and photography.

After ten years as a young, up-and-coming architect and furniture designer, Charlotte Perriand (1903–1999, Paris, France) left Le Corbusier’s studio in 1937. There, she had been responsible for numerous furniture and interior design projects. Many of these are now considered icons of modern design and are highly sought-after collector’s items. At the same time, she successfully turned her attention to photography, which served as both a source of inspiration and, in select furniture designs, became a creative element in its own right. From the very beginning, Perriand’s approach was holistic: she combined architecture, design, and photography into a comprehensive design concept. Her works were never intended as autonomous objects, but rather as components of larger contexts of life. This makes Perriand one of the most influential figures in the history of 20th-century architecture and design.