As part of «Arts and Crafts on stage», the Ministry of Culture and Communication presents: Meisenthal International Centre for Glass Art

As part of Métiers d'art en scène, the Ministry of Culture and Communication,
is pleased to welcome until January 15, 2011, the International Centre for Glass Art (CIAV) of
Meisenthal.
The Centre International d'Art Verrier was created in 1992 on the site of the former glassware of
Meisenthal (1704-1969), Bitche Country, Eastern Mosellan, in reaction to the slow
erosion of glass production lines in Lorraine and the Saar. The CIAV continues the tradition
innovation initiated by Emile Gallé, who conducted fruitful research with the Verrerie de
Meisenthal for 27 years.
Emile Gallé (1846-1904), co-founder of the École de Nancy and leader of the
Art Nouveau movement. He explores and reinterprets glass techniques with glass makers
virtuosos de la Verrerie de Meisenthal (Désiré Christian, Eugène Kremer…) from 1867 to 1894.
In 1895 he founded his own crystal shop in Nancy, which manufactured, beyond his death (until
1930s) objects under the brand «Gallé». Thanks to his work, Meisenthal is
considered today as the "cradle of Art Nouveau glass".
In different collaborative contexts, prototyping sessions, residencies, workshops with
International Art Schools, research programs, the CIAV organizes meetings
between its glassmakers and contemporary designers (artists, designers, etc.).
Centre thus cultivates the porosity between the doer and the conceiver, the learned hand and the
questions. The works and objects resulting from these works are both smugglers of
memory and the expression of a new language. They also induce the experimentation of
alternative forms of cultural dissemination and commercial distribution.
This winter, the Ministry of Culture and Communication wished to honour the
work of the CIAV, inviting it to invest the 12 windows of the Royal Palace and the Valois Gallery,
where the works of twenty artists and designers are exhibited (François
Azambourg, Michel Paysant, Jasper Morrison, Werner Aisslinger, Françoise Pétrovitch, Michel
François, Fabien Verschaere, Borek Sipek…). The fir trees of the Ministry’s premises are
also decorated with the famous Meisenthal Christmas balls, symbol of the
CIAV’s work to provide creators with the opportunity to reinterpret cultures
traditional techniques and thus bring them to new applications, new
markets.

«Crafts on stage» - «Meisenthal International Glass Art Centre»
Until 15 January 2011
Showcases of the Royal Palace and the Valois Gallery
Ministry of Culture and Communication
Metro line 1 Palais Royal – Louvre Museum
Garden opening hours: 07:00/ 20:30