Collection
Reflecting trends in contemporary design as much as the concerns of contemporary society, the mudac collection bears witness to the profound upheavals that design has undergone in the 20th and 21st centuries. Criteria for selection pertain to relevance, originality, ingenuity, innovation, and regional heritage value and follow the two guiding principles of the Plateforme 10 museums, namely commitment and new narratives. The collection therefore goes far beyond the mere aesthetic qualities of the artefacts selected.
mudac has also been building up a major collection dedicated to design in French-speaking Switzerland, in order to grasp the historical, political, social, institutional, and technological implications of this region, which is rich in facilities and institutions dedicated to design, the applied arts, and architecture.
It is a museum that is aware of the constant evolution of the various fields of design and is working to build up the cantonal design collection.
Design
Derived from industrial design, fashion, the applied arts, and narrative design, mudac’s design collection comprises more than 920 objects that reflect the functional, formal, innovative, and aesthetic concerns of their time. The collection includes furniture, lighting, tableware, sculptures, textiles, and high-tech objects.
As well as focusing on designers from French-speaking Switzerland, the collection also includes objects purchased for “carte blanche” events and exhibitions featuring local and international designers. Spontaneity, experimentation, rigour, materiality, and the unexpected are the watchwords that characterise mudac’s design collection.
The aim of mudac is to create an archive of Design in French-speaking Switzerland. The aim of these archives is to safeguard the various actions taken by individuals and public or private companies in the development of design in French-speaking Switzerland.
Glass art
Whether blown, moulded or cast, polished or frosted, transparent or opaque, glass art in all its forms is a constant source of surprise and fascination. mudac’s contemporary glass art collection opens up a whole new world of possibilities for this discipline, which builds bridges with contemporary art, design, and the applied arts.
mudac’s contemporary glass art collection is the largest in Europe. It includes almost 700 works by international artists and illustrates the history of this discipline from 1950 to the present day.
Contemporary jewellery
Jewellery is more than just a decorative element or a useless accessory. It is a field of boundless exploration that allows designers to question its meaning, function, and use, and to experiment with unusual techniques and materials in its making.
Since the 1980s, mudac has enriched its contemporary jewellery collections by acquiring the most significant works in a field that is constantly undergoing research. Two collections are represented: the mudac collection and that of the Swiss Confederation, on long-term loan.
Ceramics
mudac’s ceramics collection, supplemented by pieces on loan belonging to the Swiss Confederation, showcases the many facets that this technique can offer.
As much a technique as a material, ceramics offers so many possibilities that craftspeople and artists have been interested in it for centuries. Designers, too, have been quick to seize on this know-how with its countless possibilities: stoneware or porcelain, glazed or unglazed. It is not unusual to find lamps and side tables alongside vases, bowls, and sculptures.
Art graphique
While the term “design” is most often associated with the industrial and/or commercial creation of objects, the graphic arts constitute its essential starting point – whether the creation is digital or on paper.
The mission of mudac’s graphic arts collection is to collect prints, manual or computer drawings, material samples and models, in order to document the creative process.
Contact
Anaïs Devaux
Loan request and preservation
anais.devaux@plateforme10.ch