Ron Arad - No discipline

until monday march 16 2009
Centre Pompidou
Galerie sud
T : +33 (0)1 44 78 12 33
Place Georges Pompidou
75004 Paris
France

press contact
Isabelle Danto
T : +33 (0)1 44 78 42 00
isabelle.danto@centrepompidou.fr
www.centrepompidou.fr

info@ronarad.com
www.ronarad.com

For the first time in France, the Centre Pompidou is devoting a monograph to the British industrial designer and architect Ron Arad.

Notify sponsors the Ron Arad exhibition at the Pompidou Centre.

Chaises empilables Wavy, 2007. Coque en ABS thermoformé coloré, base en acier Inox, 98 x 64 x 66 cm. Éditeur Moroso, Cavalicco-Udine, Italie © Ron Arad Associates

Notify, the French luxury denim brand, will join forces with Ron Arad to support his first solo exhibition in France. This is a way of celebrating the connections between the worlds of Ron Arad and Notify, already highlighted by several projects midway between fashion, architecture and design.

For Maurice Ohayon, artistic director of Notify, this is less a patronage in the traditional sense than a natural evolution: "We are very lucky to be able to be a part of this project," he says.

Ron Arad and Maurice Ohayon first met to research and develop the ideal bag, a unique, modulable, practical unisex accessory, which will be presented at the Pompidou Centre as a polished metal sculpture, the first Ron Arad-Notify bag. Maurice Ohayon gave the designer no production or time constraints for this project, in order to give the maximum freedom to a creative dialogue he describes as "a game of ping pong" with Ron Arad. "I'm amazed by his capacity to invent shapes, by the innocence and purity of his work. They appear to be lit from the inside," says Ohayon. His dream would even be to commission Ron Arad for "a never-ending project".

The two creative minds have also joined forces to imagine a revolutionary Notify showroom in Milan. Across more than 1000m2 in a former industrial workshop on Via Poma Carlo, Ron Arad has conceived a bright, modulable space at the heart of which rises a giant woven metal structure some 15 metres high. Scheduled for completion in April 2009, the showroom will serve as a gallery and creative space outside of sale periods.

Beyond these exceptional collaborations, other elements connect the worlds of Ron Arad and Notify. Maurice Ohayon likes to say that Ron Arad is to steel what Notify is to denim, displaying the same attention to detail and technique.

Founded in 2003, Notify rapidly became known for its attention to cut and its forward-thinking research in the treatment of fabrics. Nicole Kidman, Anna Mouglalis, Shalom Harlow, Inès de la Fressange, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Linda Evangelista are among those fans to have adopted Notify on a day to day basis. Numerous designers have also turned to Notify's unique savoir-faire to develop denim ranges, the most recent of which is Stella McCartney. These collaborations are about more than simple labels, they are creative journeys.

From November 20th 2008 to January 26th 2009, the Pompidou Centre will feature a major exhibition of the celebrated Israeli architect and designer Ron Arad, who has been invited to transpose his creative vision in the South Gallery of the museum through a specially-created scenography.

This exhibition will focus on his creativity with shape and his technical innovations, featured through design objects and iconic creations, his buildings and recent visionary projects.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1951, Ron Arad studied in London, where his studio “Ron Arad Associates” is also based. An internationally renowned architect and designer, he is famous for his fluid and organic shapes, his playful and experimental approach to objects, often involving innovative or unusual use of materials. His sculptural armchairs « Voido », « Big Easy » or « MT », the Schizzo chair, his « Bookworm » shelf have entered into public consciousness, and his talent as an architect is widely recognised. The Pompidou Centre exhibition will include a life-size replica of a section of his futuristic foyer for the Tel-Aviv Opera House.