The multifaceted artistic universe of French scenographer Richard Peduzzi renders the retrospective titled Richard Peduzzi. Perspective. Furniture, decor, drawings at the Galerie des Gobelins in Paris, on view from October 16 – December 31, 2024. Dedicated to his extensive body of work and conveying the richness of his creative journey from 1972 to today, Perspective aims to present each of his contributions as a harmonious component of an integrated artistic system, rejecting hierarchical distinctions among disciplines and highlighting their reciprocal influences. At the show, this cohesion unfolds through a diverse collection of emblematic works, ranging from watercolours and scenic models to furniture and tapestry, each reflecting the cross-disciplinary synergy that defines Peduzzi’s creative vision.

As a theatrical scenographer, furniture designer and an intellectual committed to serving institutions—first as the director of the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD) in Paris, then of the Villa Médicis, the French state’s premier artist residency based in Rome—Peduzzi holds a unique position in the landscape of French decorative arts. This quote from his Lettre au (Letter to) Mobilier national is prominently displayed at the exhibition’s entrance: “I think a lot about the meaning and impact this exhibition should have. It should be seen and understood as a manifesto, a true creation demonstrating the diversity and nobility of the decorative arts, arts in their own right.”

Born in 1943 in Argentan, Normandy, Peduzzi studied sculpture and painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France, and began working as a theatrical scenographer from a young age. His entry into the profession gained momentum thanks to an alliance that would indelibly mark his career: In 1968, his first collaboration with Patrice Chéreau—the most renowned and innovative theatrical and operatic director of his generation, a key figure in the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers school during the 1980s, and the cinematographic director of several masterpieces, including the unforgettable film La Reine Margot—opened the doors to a partnership that would only conclude in 2013 with Chéreau’s passing.

Together, they worked on dozens of theatrical and opera productions distinguished by innovative scenic means capable of emphasising the expressive charge of the characters through a contemporary sensitiveness. Herein, Peduzzi explored an expressive freedom that avoided conventions or baroque excess. Instead, he privileged a disciplined and intentional approach, enabling him to fluidly navigate the diverse interpretations and dimensions offered by the theatrical gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art).

Designed by Peduzzi and co-curated by the artist alongside Hervé Lemoine, president of Mobilier national, the exhibition at the Gobelins gallery aptly showcases the interplay between the various decorative arts mastered by Peduzzi. Numerous watercolours and drawings document the studies for the set designs for Chéreau, from Christopher Marlowe’s Massacre à Paris, the Villeurbanne theatre in 1972 to Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle staged from 1976 to 1980 at the Bayreuth Festival and Alban Berg’s Wozzeck at the Théâtre de Châtelet in 1992—to name a few masterpieces among over 30 joint creations.

Essential in their figurative style, these paintings depict metaphysical architectures, often devoid of human figures, and relying instead, on the evocative power of colour to craft atmospheres and convey moods. From sketches to small-scale models, a series of maquettes translate the drawings in the third dimension, not only demonstrating the meticulous craftsmanship involved in creating complex miniature architectures but also conveying the emotional impact that scenography can evoke, both on the actor and, by extension, the audience.

Regarding furniture, Peduzzi’s designs maintain a strong connection to established typological archetypes, enabling them to serve both the needs of the scenic narrative and domestic functionality. His first design, a wooden armchair without armrests, was conceived for Shakespeare’s The Winter's Tale. The following year, the Mobilier national commissioned him to design its first piece, launching a collaboration that would expand to over 30 creations over the next three decades. The pieces exhibited in Perspective were predominantly designed in the 1980s—a decade often characterised by an emphatic and totemic style, as seen in the Memphis movement. However, this style is absent in Peduzzi's work. His approach rejects the hypertrophic excess that theatre design might justify, opting instead, to stay within a more everyday convention, much like the one seen in a photograph of a Viennese interior, a splendid bourgeois apartment furnished by Peduzzi. Despite the scenic origins of many of his furniture pieces, Peduzzi does not sacrifice attention to detail or the quality of finishes and materials. On the contrary, his work is invariably meticulous, with consideration of volumetric contrasts between concave and convex forms, often imperceptible from a distance.

In his Lettre au Mobilier national, Peduzzi reflects on theatre as the cornerstone of his life. This sentiment is undeniable when considering his rich career spanning over five decades, the grandeur of classic plays he shaped, and the sacred beauty of Europe's great theatres where his scenographic vision came to life. Yet the art and design exhibition encourages us to see set design as more than an extension of the stage. “When I was heading the École des Arts Décoratifs, I often told the students, the professors, and even myself that disciplines like interior architecture, scenography or furniture design didn’t truly exist as distinct entities. In my view, they all stem from the same approach: thinking about space and what inhabits it. Whether it’s designing a home or a theatre stage, the principles are the same: playing with shapes, styles, volumes, solids, and voids, while leaving room for silence and breathing spaces,” Peduzzi recounts to STIR.

“I like to think that spaces see, speak and even have their own music. Like musicians, we, as creators of spaces, must master the rules in order to challenge them—whether they are melodic or geometric lines. I particularly enjoy working with objects and furniture and exploring their forms and materials. A chair, to me, is not just an object—it’s a temple. With its four columns and its seat as a roof, it bears witness to our lives: we eat, reflect, laugh and work on it. It is this depth, this dialogue between objects and spaces, that fascinates me in the decorative arts,” the multidisciplinary artist continues, now 81-years-old.

His testimony and creations stand as a powerful affirmation that the decorative contemporary arts possess the ability to elevate our lives on par with fine arts, achieving this not through grandiose expression but with restrained design elegance and thoughtful intent.

'Richard Peduzzi. Perspective. Furniture, decor, drawings' is on view from October 16 – December 31, 2024, at Galerie des Gobelins, Paris, France.