A conversation about the works of Martin Margiela presented in the exhibition with the authors of the catalogue and the graphic designer Irma Boom who designed it.

In this catalogue, entirely supervised by Martin Margiela himself, Chris Dercon recalls the artist's training, his first works and his approach during his years as a fashion designer, Friedrich Meschede insists on the importance of serendipity in his work, François Quintin endeavours to identify Martin Margiela's recurrent obsessions visible in his work and Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel retraces the stages and objectives of this exhibition project.

All these subjects and many more will be discuss during this talk.

Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel is director of Lafayette Anticipations, Fondation des Galeries Lafayette. In 2020 she was the chief curator of the Riga Biennial, "and suddenly it all blossoms", and director of the feature film based on the exhibition.

From 2011 to 2019, she was curator at the Palais de Tokyo where she curated, among others, the cartes blanches to Tomas Saraceno, ON AIR (2018-2019) and to Tino Seghal (2016). She has also curated the exhibitions of Marguerite Humeau, FOXP2 (2016), Ed Atkins, Bastards (2014), Helen Marten's Evian Disease (2013), or David Douard's Mo'swallow (2014), as well as the group exhibition Le bord des mondes(2015).

She regularly collaborates with international institutions, with the projects 72 hours of truce: exploring immediate signs (2013) and Bright intervals (2014) at MoMA PS1 (New-York), FOXP2 (2016) at Nottingham Contemporary, Landscape (2014) with the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam) or Des présents inachevés for la Biennale de Lyon (with Oliver Beer, Julian Charrière, Jeremy Shaw and Benoît Pype, 2013). In 2017, she was co-curator of the exhibition Voyage d'Hiver at the Château de Versailles.

Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel regularly publishes in French and international journals and catalogues, and participates in numerous seminars and juries in France and abroad (FIAC, French Pavilion at the Venice Biennale etc).

She has a degree in Art History, History and Political Science from the University of Paris I - La Sorbonne.

Irma Boom est une des figures majeures du graphisme international.

Après des études à l’AKI de Enschede, Irma Boom commence sa carrière au sein du groupe Sdu de La Haye. En 1991, elle crée son propre bureau à Amsterdam, l’Irma Boom Office. Cette même année, la multinationale SHV lui confie la tâche de réaliser une édition pour le centenaire de son existence : un livre de plus de 2000 pages, publié en 1996, aujourd’hui considéré comme un symbole du « Dutch Design ».Il a amené d’autres commanditaires néerlandais ou étrangers à vouloir travailler avec elle, par exemple Vitra, Zumtobel et Ferrari.

Pour ses réalisations, Irma Boom a reçu de nombreuses distinctions, dont plusieurs fois le prix couronnant aux Pays-Bas le livre le mieux conçu graphiquement, ainsi que le prestigieux Gutenberg-Preis en 2001 ou encore, en 2012, le Prix Amsterdam. La même année, la Médaille d’Honneur pour l’Art et la Science, décernée par la reine Beatrix, est venue récompenser son travail.

Nombre de ses livres sont présents dans les collections du MoMA (New York), du Centre Pompidou ou encore du Museum für Gestaltung de Zurich.

François Quintin studied art history at the École du Louvre and at the university, as well as curatorial training at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
In 1994, he became one of the curators of the Fondation Cartier, a position he held until 2000. The following year, he was appointed director of the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, which he left in 2007 to take over as director of the Xippas Gallery. In 2011, he launched the Lafayette Anticipations project, Fondation d'entreprise Galeries Lafayette with Guillaume Houzé, director of image for the Galeries Lafayette group. After several years at the head of the prefiguration and conceptualization of the Foundation's project, largely based on production assistance, he is the artistic director of the venue which opens its doors in 2016. In 2019, he joins the Direction générale de la création artistique (DGCA) at the Ministry of Culture.
Chris Dercon is an art historian, curator and specialist in the relationship between ancient and contemporary art. He is the Director of the Volksbühne in Berlin.
Following his studies in art history, theatre and film theory at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands, Chris Dercon began his career in a gallery before going on to organize various exhibitions in Belgium and The Netherlands. In 1988, he was made Artistic Director of MoMA PS1 New York. In 1990, he became Director of Programming at the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam and Commissioner for the Dutch Pavilion at the 46th Venice Biennale. In 1995, he was appointed Director of the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam. In 2003, he became Director of Munich’s Haus der Kunst, in 2011 of the Tate Modern in London, then of the Volksbühne theater of Berlin in 2017. He is also a member of the Wiels artistic advisory committee in Brussels. Since November 7, 2018 he has been the President of the Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais in Paris.

Friedrich Meschede est historien de l'art et commissaire d'exposition.

À la tête de la Kunsthalle de Bielefeld pendant huit ans, qu'il quittera en 2019, il a également dirigé les expositions temporaires du Museu d'Art Contemporani (MACBA) de Barcelone de 2008 à 2011, du Künstlerprogramm Visual Art Department du DAAD de 1992 à 2008 et du Westfälischer's Kunstverein de Münster de 1989 à 1992.

Connu pour sa conception exigeante de l'art, sa dernière exposition à la Kunsthalle de Bielefeld, "L'homme qui marche - Verköperung des Sperrigen" (09/11/19) s'est concentrée sur la sculpture du modernisme classique à nos jours, dans le but de retracer l'intérêt de la sculpture pour le beau et l'encombrant.