Forbes
Paris celebrates the centenary of Art Deco with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’ new sweeping exhibition “1925–2025: One Hundred Years of Art Deco”. The show reflects on how the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts first propelled Art Deco from Paris to the world stage, while also demonstrating its continuing resonance today, with designers still drawing on its geometry, luxurious materials and spirit of craftsmanship.
One highlight of the exhibition is the spectacular Orient Express installation in the museum’s nave. How was the Orient Express the ultimate embodiment of the Art Deco style, and how does this dialog between a 1929 Art Deco train cabin and Maxime d’Angeac’s vision of the 21st-century Orient Express reflect the exhibition’s theme of heritage and innovation?
In the collective imagination, Art Deco is embodied through symbols: concepts such as the Roaring Twenties, flapper fashion, radiator caps, American skyscrapers and films such as The Great Gatsby. We wanted to evoke Art Deco through one of these symbols of 1920’s modernity—that of cross-border transport, which embodies luxury and has fueled the imagination ever since Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express—all while connecting it to the contemporary world to evoke the resonance of Art Deco today, thanks to Maxime d’Angeac’s new Orient Express. This highlight of the exhibition should allow visitors to understand how Art Deco can still be reinterpreted today.