en relief, 
créer 
en arménie

Just as a twinning agreement has been signed between Saint-Étienne and the town of Kapan in southern Armenia, the 13th Biennale Internationale Design de Saint-Étienne is giving pride of place to this country and contemporary design.

In a scenography designed by Normal Studio, the En relief, créer en Arménie exhibition explores the intimate relationship between artists and their environment and seeks to show how territory is a resource that nourishes practices and imaginations.

The three curators, Jean-François Dingjian, Eloi Chafaï and Nairi Khatchadourian, present the work of around fifteen Armenian designers including Sargis Antonian, Shant Charoian, Movses Der Kevorkian, Davit Kochunts, Anush Ghukasyan, Arsen Karapetyan, Noro Khachatryan, Piruza Khalapyan, Khoren Matevosian, Gayane Sofoyan, Ariga Torosian, Studio Triniti, snkh., TUMO, AHAcollective, ICA Yerevan, Berq Studio, Hripsime Simonyan (1916-1998), KamoNigarian (1950-2011), all of them driven and inhabited by energy, elegance andfreedom. And it is indeed inventiveness that is the designer’s resource in Armenian society.

The exhibition also pays tribute to two leading figures of the modernist era, whose ingenuity has influenced many contemporary designers. Multifaceted artists, Hripsime Simonyan (1916-1998) and Kamo Nigarian (1950-2011) made a major contribution to the development of industrial design and the applied and decorative arts in Armenia during the Soviet era. The works and archives exhibited offer a visual and historical counterpoint to the contemporary creations of Armenia’s youth.

Normal Studio
Founded in 2006 by Eloi Chafaï and Jean-François Dingjian, Normal Studio works in the areas of product design, scenography and interior design. Their approach is based on a pared-down design, where simple, everyday objects take on intuitive and familiar forms. Placing the emphasis on a rational, immediate creative process, they explore elementary materials and forms with a mischievous take. As well being responsible for art direction at Tolix, Sammode and Ober, the duo also collaborate with brands like Thermo, Schneider Electric or Muuto. Their work has been shown at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, and several of their creations have joined the collections of the Centre Pompidou and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris.

Nairi Khatchadourian
Nairi Khatchadourian is an art historian and exhibition curator. She was born in Paris, but has lived in Armenia since 2015. In museums, public spaces, abandoned factories and villages, she brings together artists, architects, designers and researchers under the aegis of her organisation AHA collective, which was set up with the aim of reviving the place of art at grass roots level in the regions. She forges links between public and private, heritage and new creation, exploring local resources and know-how. She has published numerous catalogues and curated over twenty exhibitions on Armenian contemporary art, design and heritage, and recently opened the AHA collective gallery in Yerevan, Armenia.