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/// IN THE AIR / Konstantin Grcic Konstantin Grcic / IN THE AIR ///
You are the curator and scenographer of the exhibition MATCH,
on the ties forged and the future of sport and design, at the
4 5
Musée du Luxembourg (Paris). Tell us about the exhibition.
KONSTANTIN GRCIC
Konstantin Grcic: The French National Museums wanted an
Design, set exhibition on sport as part of the Cultural Olympiad program. The
exhibition that I put together examines the relationship between
the two fields and looks to the future. Sports design helps to
& MATCH improve athletes’ sporting performances. They're better, faster
and safer, but also more inclusive. It expedites reinvention. Sport
always
progressing
is
a
very dynamic industry,
focused
and
on
improvement. Design participates in this. That seems paradoxical,
because in other sectors, design can be almost conservative;
it reassures us with the well-known codes that we're seeking.
Especially in furnishings. So, the same person might look for the
avant-garde in the design of their sporting equipment and then
seek reassurance in the lines of their furniture.
THE RENOWNED GERMAN DESIGNER HAS
Does sport have a place in your design creation?
DESIGNED THE SCENOGRAPHY FOR THE
K. G.: Sport was my first design teacher! As a kid, I was obsessed
EXHIBITION "MATCH", RUNNING FROM MARCH
by sports gear. I studied sporting catalogs. I learned a lot, and Your career as a designer is long-lasting. How do you look back
13 TO AUGUST 11, 2024, AT THE MUSÉE DU
that unconsciously became part of my creative process. Sports at your early years?
LUXEMBOURG (PARIS). AN design is very functional; it needs to be performance-driven and
K. G.: My first projects seem so far away; and I don't just mean
logical; both in its form and structure, and in how it's made. It
ENCOUNTER BETWEEN
in numbers of years. There were no computers when I started!
creates a very rational but very dynamic language. Of course,
DESIGN AND SPORT Lots of tools didn't exist back then. Society has completely
it's not the same in furniture; even though a chair needs to be
changed. Digitization has changed life; its speed, its complexity,
WITH A TOUCH OF THE
high-performance and functional in its own way. You have to be
the amount of data we're drowning in, our habits... Before, I used
FUTURE. PERFECT TIMING able to move around on it and feel comfortable. That gives us a
to go to work, to an o ce, and sit at my desk. Today, all you need
psychological key to understanding the impact of design on our
FOR THIS SPORTING YEAR.
2 to work is an internet connection. It's a great opportunity, a great
feelings. And that's true of sport, too. If I put on shoes designed
freedom; but that also creates problems, which we're all familiar
in a certain way, I'll have the feeling I can run faster.
with.
Numerous seats, but also lunch boxes, flushes, bags, watches,
What room is there for teaching in your life as a designer today?
clothes... Integrating design into the everyday and making it
accessible seems to be important in your choice of projects and K. G.: I haven't taught in a long time. That was by choice;
1
Photo credit: © GrandPalaisRmn / BUREAU BORSCHE part of our culture. How do we live? With what? How does it 2020, I accepted a teaching post in Hamburg, because I wanted
36 partnerships. why I became a designer. is I love people. Design is I wanted to focus on practice. But it wasn't a refusal to share. 37
In my studio, I still believe my job is to pass on my knowledge
That's
design
when
it
K. G.:
to my staff. It's a form of knowledge and experience sharing. In
Design
is
for
everyday life.
of people's
part
what
back
to
I
been
had
wanted
give
to
behave
responsibly;
I
represent our life? Addressing these questions is one of my big
given when I was younger. But that wasn't my only motivation.
driving forces.
3 As the years go by – I'll soon be 59 – I need to stay in touch
with young people; to listen to, learn from and be inspired by the
younger generations.
1 & 5. Myto
2. Mayday
3, 6 & 7. Exhibition poster and visuals
MATCH Design & Sport 6
a story looking to the future
4. Chair One
Sports design helps to improve athletes’
sporting performances. They're better,
faster and safer, but also more inclusive.
It expedites reinvention.
Konstantin Grcic, some of whose creations are 7
among the permanent collections of the Paris
Modern Art Museum and the Decorative Arts
Museum, has had a very functional approach to
Photo credit: © Photo Didier Plowy for GrandPalaisRmn
design throughout his career. His radical, pure,
direct, simple, but never minimalist style singles
him out. An exhibition regular, he organizes them
to present his own works; or, like here, to put
across a certain point of view without actually
showing any of his works. Today, he shares his
vision with us.