Living Modernism: Design, Photography, Architecture

Museum der Moderne Salzburg [ENA] Charlotte Perriand belongs to the major figures of twentieth-century design, and this exhibition at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg presents her work with unusual breadth and clarity. Rather than separating furniture, architecture, and photography, the show treats them as one continuous creative practice, which makes the presentation feel intellectually coherent and visually rich.

The exhibition is described as the first major retrospective in Austria, and it runs from 1 May to 13 September 2026 at the Mönchsberg location. That timing is fitting: Perriand’s ideas about modern living still speak directly to current debates about housing, functionality, and social responsibility in design. The curatorial concept emphasizes that she did not see objects as isolated artworks, but as parts of broader life systems.

Particularly compelling is the way the exhibition highlights Perriand’s versatility. Visitors encounter her architectural thinking, her celebrated furniture designs, and her photography, which served both as inspiration and as a design tool. The inclusion of a reconstructed alpine refuge and archival material adds a strong spatial and historical dimension, helping the exhibition move beyond a simple chronology of works.

What makes the show memorable is its portrait of Perriand as both modernist and humanist. Her belief that design should improve everyday life gives the exhibition moral force as well as aesthetic appeal. It is a thoughtful, elegant, and timely tribute to a designer who understood modernity not as style alone, but as a way of living, with lasting relevance for how we imagine comfort, function, and beauty today.