“ANDRÉ RICARD. DESIGN IN USE,” THE MAJOR RETROSPECTIVE DEDICATED TO THE FATHER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN IN SPAIN

Presented by Madrid Design Festival and curated by Marina Povedano and Arnau Pascual, the exhibition spans more than six decades of work by the author of iconic pieces such as the Tatu lamp, the Tong tongs, and the Barcelona ’92 Olympic torch

Until May 3, at the Teatro Fernán Gómez. Centro Cultural de la Villa in Madrid, it is possible to visit the exhibition “André Ricard. Design in Use”, the largest retrospective ever devoted to André Ricard, 96, a key figure in the history of contemporary design and a pioneer in the construction of a design culture in Spain. It coincides with the awarding of the Madrid Design Festival Award 2025 to Ricard, in recognition of a career that has shaped more than six decades of design, thought, and cultural activism.

Curated by Marina Povedano and Arnau Pascual, the exhibition is a project by La Fábrica and Madrid Design Festival, and co-produced with Disseny Hub Barcelona and FAD, with the support of AC Marca and Tatay S.A.

André Ricard is a pioneer in the creation of industrial objects, a promoter of critical thinking, and a decisive figure in the institutionalisation of design in Spain. His career reflects the very evolution of the discipline in the country.

Of French family origin and with a cosmopolitan outlook, Ricard discovered design within the international context of the 1950s. From the outset, he was drawn to everyday objects stripped of the superfluous. This pursuit of the essential, the honest, and the functional defined all his work, always aimed at improving the quality of life through precise solutions.

His collaboration with Perfumes Puig exemplifies the alliance between industry and innovation, while his involvement in the Olympic movement—through the emblematic Barcelona 1992 torch—demonstrates how design projected a contemporary identity of city and country to the world.

His career has been recognised with awards such as the National Design Award, the Creu de Sant Jordi, the Légion d’Honneur, and the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

His output marked a milestone in the history of Spanish design by pioneering the link between professional practice and rigorous theoretical reflection, positioning design as a driver of social progress. Throughout his career, Ricard combined professional activity with teaching and cultural activism, promoting institutions such as the Industrial Design Association of the Fostering of Arts and Design (ADI FAD), the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), and the Design and Advertising Association (ADP).

André Ricard’s designs are associated with the everyday and the invisible—with that which integrates naturally into our daily lives. Each object is conceived for a specific use, with the intention of solving real needs and enduring over time.

Far from a chronological narrative, André Ricard. Design in Use structures the exhibition around the spaces where objects acquire meaning: the table, the bathroom, the kitchen, the study, celebration, and memory. Inspired by the historic exhibition Le design au quotidien (Bulle, Switzerland, 1995), curated by Ricard himself, the show presents the pieces in context and without display cases, emphasising their relevance, accessibility, and timelessness.

Each area is accompanied by texts and materials that guide visitors through the key milestones of his career: his formative years in the Vall d’Aran, the discovery of industrial design, his first commissions for Puig, participation in international congresses, his prolific written work, and his role in the 1992 Olympic Games.

Thanks to the collaboration of collector Alejandro Mena and the archive of the Museu del Disseny – Disseny Hub Barcelona, the exhibition brings together drawings, sketches, prototypes, photographs, and original documents that construct an accessible, educational narrative faithful to Ricard’s own spirit.

At the entrance to the exhibition, visitors are welcomed by pieces such as the Tecla coat hanger (1978), the water jug (2020), and the Futura streetlamp (1981). All of them demonstrate the formal clarity, conceptual precision, and ethics of use that define his legacy: an object endures when its essential idea remains useful.

André Ricard’s career is also built upon a constellation of decisive designs. These range from his earliest proposals for the domestic and industrial sphere—such as the Jalitán washing machine (1956), the Rania milk bottle (1967), and the Stabilo candle (1963)—to objects for public and urban use, including the litter bin for the Barcelona Provincial Council (1999), the waste mailbox for pneumatic transport (2002), and the plaques for historic buildings for the Cultural Olympiad (1990).

Ricard approached design as a transversal tool capable of improving systems, environments, and services. These pieces reveal a constant attention to ergonomics, production, and durability, extending his legacy beyond the iconic object toward design as everyday infrastructure.

This comprehensive outlook also extends to projects linked to collective space and the symbolic dimension of design. Interventions such as the courtyard of the Parliament of Catalonia (2003), the Monument to the Aranese language in the Vall d’Aran (2008), and the Ice Hockey World Championship trophy (2000) show that Ricard was able to transfer his principles of formal clarity, functional precision, and social responsibility to diverse scales and contexts. Even in his most recent works, such as the Boomerang chair (2023), his original idea of designing to endure remains present.

This major anthology will coexist with other outstanding exhibitions at the festival and reclaims the figure of the man considered the father of industrial design in Spain, highlighting not only his creations—conceived to improve everyday life—but also his theoretical and educational thinking, which is more relevant today than ever.