9th march - 17th june 2018


Born in Hungary in 1923, Yona Friedman has spent over 60 years reconsidering architecture and specifically the way we live together as a society. His holistic thinking resonates today with many major concerns such as dwindling natural resources, overpopulation, poverty, ecological issues and remodelling of homes and landscapes.

Yona Friedman is respected not only in architecture but also in contemporary art. He has developed the notion of feasible Utopias which span both fields, just one of several key ideas he spreads through his work, writing and lectures. For example, the first of his theoretical works, Mobile Architecture, was published in 1958. In it he posits that each person should be allowed to adapt their living space according to their needs and resources.

A large installation made from 200 aluminium hoops greets visitors as they enter the castle courtyard. Its light and open construction is designed to house images that members of the public can add throughout the exhibition's duration. In keeping with Friedman's precepts of delegating and passing on creative responsibilities, this new “museum without a building” will therefore gradually grow and be transformed through everyone's contributions.

A significant part of the exhibition consists of Yona Friedman's published texts, especially those written for a general readership. These include many of his comic books (a medium he often employed, for example in his series of manuals produced for UNESCO in the 1970s) as well as texts that reflect the poetic and philosophical side of his work. The exhibition concludes on a universal note with giant wall-drawings of fabulous creatures and the animated African Tales he made for French Television between 1960 and 1963.

To mark the occasion, a video, Yona Friedman, un habitant indiscipliné (Yona Friedman, an Undisciplined Inhabitant) is available during the exhibition. The dvd was produced in 2017 by “le Huit” and CNEAI in conjunction with Rochechouart MoCA.

  Image 1 : Yona Friedmann - Musée sans bâtiments, 2018. 200 cerceaux en aluminium. Production du Musée d’art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne. Crédit photo : Aurélien Mole
  Image 2 : Yona Friedmann - Structure lamellaire, 2018 . Structure en carton ondulé, filins. Production du Musée d’art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne. Crédit photo : Aurélien Mole
  Image 3 : Yona Friedmann - Gribouilli, 2018. Fil d’aluminium. The city above your head. (la ville au-dessus de votre tête). Impression sur papier réalisée à partir d’un collage. 2,50 x 3,50 cm. Reproduit dans l’ouvrage « Villes imaginaires » Editions de l’éclat (Paris), 2016. Production du Musée d’art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne. Crédit photo : Aurélien Mole