A bit of France in Miami

On the hectic week of Design Miami and Art Basel we made a happy detour to the Wolfsonian Institute to visit ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’. Curated by Matali Crasset, with exhibition design by M/M Paris, the show plots the influence of French design from the 1940’s to the present day.

Featuring works by Jean Prouve, Philippe Starck, the Bouroullec brothers, Pierre Paulin and Michel Ducaroy, the exhibition explores the impact of design - its creation, dissemination and the resulting shift in French social ideals. Film presentations ran alongside the main gallery displays including edited clips from the wonderful ‘Playtime' by Jacques Tati (below) and 'L’enfer' by Henri-Georges Clouzot.

We particularly loved the staged installation formatted by Crasset and designed by M/M Paris. Boldly painted in the colours of the French Tricolour and assembled to serve as stools, plinths and barriers. Based on Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier’s ‘Modulor’, ‘a measuring system derived from the proportions of the human body’, the pieces are available to buy from the Wolfsonian (and funnily enough, they are on the Relay Christmas wish-list).