The Bouroullecs at Rennes

In Rennes, France, four exhibitions show the incredibly wide range of subjects covered by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec: from jewellery to architecture, from furniture to public spaces.

See also: Urban waking dreams a conversation between Ronan Buroullec and Nicola Di Battista, on Domus 1001, April 2016.

 

The Rennes presentation of Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec’s work is a unique event and the biggest of its kind in France: three locations with four exhibitions over 2,000 square metres. There could easily have been a strong temptation to present a “best of” of the designers’ work since the late 1990s. But they considered that the exhibitions at the centre Pompidou-Metz (2011), the MoCA Chicago (2012) and the Musée des arts déco de Paris (2013) had already done that job superbly.

I Bouroullec a Rennes
View of the “Rétrospective” exhibition at FRAC Rennes
In Rennes, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have opted for a “didactic retrospective” and have also chosen pieces linked to ongoing research and new themes in their work. The four exhibitions in Rennes show the incredibly wide range of subjects covered by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec: from jewellery to architecture, from furniture to public spaces. The exhibitions also show a number of recurring themes in their work: mobility, flexibility, a certain kind of pragmatism, simplicity and visual economy, the freedom to let users “invent the life that goes with,” a chair, a sofa etc.
I Bouroullec a Rennes
The “Kiosque” at Parlement de Bretagne
At the Frac Bretagne, a first exhibition is presented in the form of a Retrospective. Dedicated to industrial projects and made up of around 100 objects, it tells the story of nearly twenty years of collaboration between the Bouroullec studio and important editors such as Vitra, Hay, Alessi, Magis, Kvadrat and, more recently, Artek and Samsung. The chairs, tables, desks, TV, rugs, vases, plates etc. resonate with freehand drawings, sketchbooks, models, films and other traces from their private archives. The entire exhibition has a modular scenography, based on suspended elements specially conceived for the occasion.

 

The second exhibition at the Frac, “17 screens”, allows viewers to see for the first time in Europe the “experimental and atmospheric” modular screen systems. Suspended in the space, they are made from ceramics, glass, aluminium, wood, textiles or guipure.

 

Les Champs Libres exhibition is a “wandering or an urban reverie” based on thoughts about urban development. Drawings, films and photographs, research models and life-sized prototypes are set out around twenty proposals that re-invent certain “urban motifs” : vines, torches, parasols, a raised stream, a kiosque etc. These propositions are Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s first projects that concentrate on public spaces.

 

Le parlement de Bretagne’s internal courtyard houses one of the projects conceived for public spaces. The Kiosque (2015) is an autonomous, movable space. It is made of a steel structure with large bay windows and a protective roof that forms a kind of external terrace. Lanterns are suspended at each end of the roof, lighting the entire covered surface. In Rennes, the Kiosque is associated with Palissade (2015), a collection of outdoor furniture, conceived for the Danish brand Hay. In an environment with exceptional heritage value, the installation is open to a variety of usages. It is a place where people can pause and relax, but it can also be an “active” venue housing concerts, conferences, meetings etc.


until 28 August 2016
RONAN & ERWAN BOUROULLEC
“Rétrospective” e/and “17 Screens” (FRAC Rennes)
“Rêveries urbaines” (Les Champs Libres)
“Kiosque” (Parlement de Bretagne)
Curators: Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec
Exhibition display: Bouroullec Studio
Venues: Les Champs Libres, FRAC Bretagne, Parlement de Bretagne, Rennes

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