From 11 October 2023 to 10 March 2024, the Design Museum Brussels presents Christophe Gevers, the architecture of the detail. More than a collection of objects, this exhibition is an opportunity to discover the unique world of one of the major figures of Belgian interior architecture and design who was driven by a lifelong ambition to make built spaces more human. Fifteen years after the retrospective ‘Inventaire d’un inventeur’ at Fondation pour l’Architecture, the Design Museum Brussels aims to make the most of the treasures in Thierry Belenger’s archives, expert on twentieth-century Belgian design.

The public will be able to look into Christophe Gevers’ archive, currently housed at the museum. This will not be done in the form of a monograph, but rather as a trajectory where his legacy can be questioned and passed on. This project, entrusted to curator Giovanna Massoni, is an opportunity to explore the topicality of her approach through concepts such as artisanal production, functionality and the choice of solid materials, all of which form an integral part of Gever’s work.

The audience can also find out more about creations that, from her point of view, stem from an abundance of extraordinary creativity. The most prolific period of this autodidact architect, who was a lover of clean lines and tactile materials, was between 1960 and 1980. The exhibition reflects the spirit of Christophe Gevers, who said he became a designer “because I am interested in the present, the future and the distant past”.

A designer who cannot be seen in separation from his surroundings. The expo includes the ”library of materials”, the workplace with its tools, machinery and equipment, as well as the graphic designs. Included is also the unique and impressive collection of models that Gevers made before starting on his technical drawings, a characteristic of his working process. To these are added furniture and accessories such as the TBA chair designed for the Taverne des Beaux-Arts (1959) or the CG01 lamp for the restaurant Cap d’Argent.

The exhibition is also presenting a film by designer and director Alexandre Humbert. The film goes in search of the physical and emotional traces that remain of Gevers’ work and casts an eye on the permanence of architecture today. The humanity we attribute to every creation by Christophe Gevers derives from his personal commitment and attention to detail at every stage of the design process.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

When:

Christophe Gevers, l’architecture du détail
11.10.2023 > 10.03.2024

Where :

Design Museum Brussels
Place de la Belgique 1 – 1020 Brussel

Info: [email protected] / 02 669 49 29

Opening hours: from Monday to Sunday 11am > 7pm