Dialogue between an Octopus and a Juicer

Bring­ing together contem­por­ary works form the fields of design, glass art, ceram­ics, graphic arts and jewellery through a bold, labyrinth-themed set design, the differ­ent works are juxta­posed by formal, informal and even unusual affin­it­ies. The route opens up the field of possib­il­it­ies, foster­ing unex­pec­ted encoun­ters and build­ing bridges between artistic discip­lines. Along the way, from Mai-Thu Perret’s ceramic octopus to Phil­ippe Star­ck’s juicer, from David Bielander’s trompe-l’oeil jewellery to Toots Zynsky’s glass wire bowl, visit­ors are free to create their own asso­ci­ations or to appre­ci­ate the works in them­selves.

The diversity of objects shown in Dialogue between an Octopus and a Juicer is reflec­ted in the very name of the museum, mudac, which stands for “Museum of Contem­por­ary Design and Applied Arts.” Indeed, the five discip­lines: contem­por­ary graphic arts, ceram­ics, glass art, jewellery and design come together and are linked to the very history of the insti­tu­tion.

From the former Musée des arts décor­at­ifs de Lausanne to Maison Gaud­ard on Place de la Cathéd­rale and the current Plate­forme 10 site, the mudac collec­tion has been built up over time in line with the trends in contem­por­ary creation. Compris­ing more than 3,000 works, the acquis­i­tions, dona­tions and long-term depos­its have enriched the museum’s collec­tions year after year. In addi­tion to major figures in the creat­ive field, mudac is partic­u­larly keen to follow and support the projects of up-and-coming local artists, in partic­u­lar through the purchase of students gradu­ation works from ECAL – École cantonale d’art de Lausanne – and HEAD – Haute école d’art et de design Genève.

The rich­ness of the collec­tion lies not so much in the quant­ity of objects, but in the qual­ity and unique­ness of the works, which bear witness to changes in design and applied arts in the 20^th and 21^st centur­ies.