Créer un vase

With Créer un vase, the Centre national des arts plastiques invites ten designers to explore the universal form of the vase as a field of research into contemporary design, offering designers a framework in which to experiment and develop original projects. This commission reaffirms the fundamental role of public commissions in shaping the Cnap’s “Decorative Arts, Design and Crafts” collection.

The first presentation of this commission will take place at La Platine – Cité du design from April 29 to September 20, 2026. Following in the footsteps of landmark commissions, Créer un vase is part of a broader ecosystem combining production, exhibition, publication, mediation and collaboration with schools, with the aim of ensuring wide circulation throughout the country in partnership with cultural institutions and organisations.

An Archetypal Object as a Field of Experimentation

A functional object, a sculpture, a manifesto or a space for experimentation: what can a vase be in the 21st century? The twenty-one models created, along with an extensive body of research materials comprising more than one hundred elements, seek to answer this question.

A universal object found across cultures and throughout history, the vase offers a privileged framework through which to question the forms, uses and narratives of design. Créer un vase gives rise to new bodies of research, revealing the richness of contemporary approaches: exploration of materials, dialogue with craftsmanship, hybridisation of techniques, and engagement with social, ecological and historical contexts.

Like the objects themselves, sketches, drawings, models, prototypes and production archives become part of the collection. The commission thus emerges as a space for research and experimentation, where designers are free to explore, test, collaborate and sometimes fail. The collection becomes a living archive of making, revealing the complexity of the gestures, techniques and knowledge involved.

Contemporary Practices Between Exploration and Engagement

The selected projects reveal a shared understanding of design as a tool for exploration, reflection and engagement. Each designer asserts a situated practice at the intersection of aesthetics, function and everyday life, where the vase becomes a medium for memory, a critical tool and a projection towards the future.

The commission highlights the richness of collaborations between designers, craftspeople, manufacturers and researchers, while showcasing the excellence of contemporary craftsmanship. By bringing together both emerging and established designers, Créer un vase reflects the Centre national des arts plastiques’s commitment to supporting emerging creation and accompanying the ongoing transformations of contemporary design.

Following its presentation in Saint-Étienne, the commission will then be presented at the Jardin des métiers d’Art et du Design (JAD) from October 16, 2026 to February 28, 2027, and subsequently at La Piscine – Musée d’art et d’industrie André Diligent from June to November 2027.

A publication co-edited with JBE Books accompanies the commission.