From 10 April to 15 September, the Design Museum Brussels is hosting the Olivetti · Folon exhibition in collaboration with the Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti, the Gruppo TIM, the Fondation Folon and the Museo Civico Pier Alessandro Garda of the city of Ivrea. These partners bring to life a collaboration that has spanned the decades, a singular social vision of industry and a humanistic relationship with the world.

Since its founding in 1908 in Italy, Olivetti has made a name for itself worldwide through the development of legendary products such as typewriters and computers. The company promoted a highly-developed social entrepreneurial model that involved guaranteeing workers improvements in their working conditions through cultural centres, libraries, healthcare, day-care centres, canteens and so on. Olivetti’s ambition was to propose a model that combined the economic growth of a company with the cultural and social fulfilment of its workers.

Sharing these values, Jean-Michel Folon (1934-2003) worked for Olivetti for almost thirty years, producing posters and advertising products, as well as a number of books and cartoons of immense creativity and profound humanism. The Olivetti · Folon exhibition presents this rich artistic collaboration between the Italian company, one of its best-known artistic directors (the Italian writer Giorgio Soavi) and the Belgian artist, thanks to a fascinating selection drawn from the historical heritage of the Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti, works of art from the Olivetti Art Collection since 2003 owned by Gruppo TIM, and the Fondation Folon.

Curators Marcella Turchetti and Paola Mantovani have incorporated pieces from the collections of the Design Museum Brussels (including the emblematic Olivetti typewriters) and have drawn even more heavily on Folon’s work, representing three decades of work and correspondence displayed over 600m². These include the large mural in London’s Waterloo Station, which plunges visitors into Folon’s world, the animated film “Le Message”, and the diaries and gift books for the factory’s employees and customers. “So many new artistic experiments whose poetry and contemporary nature will be fully revealed in Brussels,” according to the curators.

Revealing a little-known side of Folon’s work, the exhibition will delight visitors with an interest in  art history, design, industry and social policy. The exhibition takes place in a symbolically important year, that of the ninetieth anniversary of Folon’s birth. Alongside the exhibition at the Design Museum Brussels, two other major exhibitions take place at the Magritte Museum and the Autrique House. The exhibitions bring together some of the many facets of this protean artist, who broke down the boundaries between genres.

With this exhibition, the Design Museum Brussels is once again shining a spotlight on graphic design, an area of design in its own right.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

When:

Olivetti · Folon
10.04.2024 > 15.09.2024

Where :

Design Museum Brussels
Place de la Belgique 1 – 1020 Brussels

Info: [email protected] / 02 669 49 29

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

With the support of the National Lottery and its players