Art Frame: MMFA 2025: Decorative Arts and Design

From the Functional to the Fabulous

600 Years of Decorative Arts and Design

New presentation of the decorative arts and design collection

Opens on September 13, 2025.

Today, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has unveiled the newly reconfigured spaces of its Lilian and David M. Steward Pavilion of Decorative Arts and Design that holds a unique and prestigious collection. The present exhibition, that will have some items on display to rotate in the future, offers to visitors some 800 works (silverware, ceramics, jewelry, furniture, textiles, glassware, crafts and industrial design objects) from Quebec, Canada, and also from abroad.

At the center of this major design installation, the public will once again be able to see Dale Chihuly's The Sun, 2003 (see the very first photo at the top of this article). Previously installed on the front steps of the Museum during the summer, this majestic sculpture composed of 1,200 rays of blown glass will now shine in perpetuity at the heart of the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion.

Please note that to mark the grand reopening of the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion, admission to the Museum will be free for everyone on Saturday, September 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Creative activities and festivities are also planned for Du Musée Avenue. It is a free event, but the registration is required here to enter the Museum.

Do not miss the opportunity to admire over 600 years of design, discovering the role objects play in shaping our lives, learning to appreciate the design in all its forms while reflecting on our everyday interactions with designed objects.

The renovated interior, spread over the two levels of the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion, is a marvel of Brutalist architecture. The new exhibition floor and the design and art installation displayed within it, covers nearly 2,000 m², bringing together some 800 works (silverware, ceramics, jewellery, furniture, textiles, glassware, craft and industrial design objects) and introduces to the public over 400 designers, artists, and artisans from around the world who contributed their creations to this exhibition. Close to a quarter of these objects are being shown for the first time.

The new re-installation also features a new space dedicated to silver and metal works produced in Europe and Canada from the 17th to 20th century. This gallery presents a selection of silver pieces from the over 1,000 objects that the Honourable Serge Joyal has offered to the MMFA since 1990. Highlights of the collection attest to the importance of silversmithing activity in Quebec City and Montreal from the late 18th century onwards, represented here by master silversmiths Laurent Amiot and Robert Hendery. The collection also traces its expansion in the 1880s under the leadership of the Birks jewellery firm and includes more contemporary works from the 20th century by jewellers Maurice Brault and Walter Schluep.

A new theme-based presentation

Adopting both a trans-historical and theme-based approach, the new presentation explores the evolution of design from the 15th century to the present day, reflecting the social changes that have occurred over that time. The main floor focuses on design as a form of cultural expression while the upper level explores the functionality of design. Visitors can explore the expressive qualities of objects as well as their technical functions and innovations.

Twelve themed sections highlight the diversity not only of the objects in the collection but also of their production techniques, ranging from traditional handcrafting to digital fabrication. The reinstallation spotlights innovations in such diverse fields as well-being, communications, domestic life, office work and transportation. Visitors won't want to miss a rare example of Richard Buckminster Fuller's prefabricated Dymaxion (1936) bathroom, a Keracolor B1 (1969) large-format spherical television designed by Arthur Bracegirdle, Douglas Ball's self-contained office capsule dubbed the Clipper CS-1 (1992), or the 10th-anniversary edition of the smart fortwo car (2009), of which only 100 examples were produced.

Anchoring the presentation between the upper and lower levels is an object-based chronology that tells the story of the evolution of design from a historical perspective, focusing on themes such as global trade and exchange, colonialism and imperialism, the Industrial Revolution, modernism and 21st-century design.

Mary-Dailey Desmarais, the Chief Curator at the MMFA, stated:

"We're thrilled to share this all-new presentation of our decorative arts and design collection with our visitors. The culmination of an over-three-year collaboration between design historian Rachel Gotlieb and the MMFA's teams, this display studded with objects shown for the first time highlights era-defining aesthetic, material, and technological advances from the 15th century to today. It is both an ode to the ingenuity of artisans and designers past and present and an invitation to discover the many ways decorative arts and design shape our interactions with the world around us."

Rachel Gotlieb, the guest curator, elaborated:

"This reinstallation aims to foster greater appreciation for design by encouraging reflection on our everyday interactions with designed objects. It reveals how these works—from crafts to industrial design—evolve along with society and help shape our daily lives with ever greater inventiveness and creativity. It also sheds light on the Museum's collection-building process, highlighting curatorial decisions and cultural considerations that have influenced this comprehensive and remarkable assemblage of decorative arts and design work over time."

NEW ACQUISITIONS AND RARELY DISPLAYED OBJECTS

The redesigned galleries will bring together many outstanding objects from the MMFA’s collection, including works by Edward Barnard & Sons, Christopher Dresser, Elkington, Nicholas Hilliard, Jean Pierre‑Latz, Mason & Co., Louis Majorelle and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Remarkable acquisitions include a miniature Louis XV commode, as well as a rare Sèvres breakfast service which depicts miniatures of celebrated literary and artistic women from the 17th and 18th centuries painted by Jean Georget.

Art Deco, Modernism, Pop and Postmodern design are also represented by numerous designers from both here and abroad, including Douglas Ball, Mario Bellini, Jeannette Meunier Biéler, Marcel Breuer, Clarice Cliff, François Dallegret, Riccardo Dalisi, Charles and Ray Eames, Gio Ponti and Piero Fornasetti, Frank O. Gehry, Grete Jalk, Léon Kann, Shiro Kuramata, Carlo Mollino, Isamu Noguchi, Gaetano Pesce, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Hugh Spencer, Ettore Sottsass, Walter Dorwin Teague, Vivianna Torun Bülow‑Hübe, and Mariette Rousseau‑Vermette. Contemporary craft and design will also be in the spotlight, with work by Lani Adeoye, Syd Carpenter, Michel Dallaire, James Dyson, Ying Gao, Steven Heinemann, Hitomi Hosono, Hella Jongerius, Ross Lovegrove, Zoë Mowat, Pascale Girardin, Faye Toogood, Ionna Vautrin and Studio 5.5 designers, among others.

Furthermore, the presentation also feature recent acquisitions of works by Indigenous designers, including Michael Massie, Audie Murray and Caroline Monnet in collaboration with Humble Nature.

And, finally, to encourage dialogue between the different art forms represented in the Museum’s collections, the presentation will display paintings, sculptures, and textile and paper works by artists such as Edmund Alleyn, Paul‑Émile Borduas, Shary Boyle, Greg Curnoe, Nadia Myre, Woody De Othello, Pablo Picasso and Nam Jun Paik.