Some exhibitions move us, others invite us to think, others reveal forgotten artists… and others teach us to look at even what is closest to us with new eyes. The André Ricard retrospective , Design in Use, which is free to visit at the Fernán Gómez Theater. Centro Cultural de la Villa (Plaza de Colón, 4) as part of the Madrid Design Festival (MDF26) program, is one of the latter.
Before going into the details of the exhibition itself, it is worth pausing for a moment to understand Ricard’s importance as a key figure in industrial design in Spain. This can be done through a single but significant milestone: one of the most emblematic pieces of his career is the Olympic torch for Barcelona 92.
The way in which André Ricard has approached design throughout his career has marked a before and after in the history of this discipline in our country. Not only because of his pioneering way of intertwining theory and professional practice, but also because of his constant search for “the essential, honest, and functional” in order to “improve the quality of life through precise solutions,” according to MDF26.
This exhibition and the Madrid Design Festival Award 2025 recognize six decades of “design, thought, and cultural activism” that have now also found their way into our everyday lives.
Everyday objects as design solutions
Image courtesy of: MDF26
One of the fundamental pillars of Ricard’s work has been to design these everyday objects in such a way that they have a specific use and meet a real need over time. Perhaps because we are so used to seeing them in our daily lives, they end up becoming invisible to us, but this exhibition brings them back to the forefront.
It does so, moreover, by dispensing with the usual codes: there are no display cases or showcases here, but rather six distinct spaces in which these objects “take on meaning” by showing them in their context: the table, the bathroom, the kitchen, the study, the party, and memory, to emphasize “their relevance, familiarity, and timelessness,” explain the organizers.
Among them are designs such as the Jalitán washing machine (1956), the Rania milk bottle (1967), the Stabilo candle (1963), the Tecla hanger (1978), and the pitcher (2020).
Thanks to the collaboration of collector Alejandro Mena and the archives of the Museu del Disseny – Disseny Hub Barcelona, these designs are complemented by drawings, sketches, prototypes, photographs, and original documents that together define Ricard’s legacy: “an object endures when its essential idea remains useful.”
Dates and opening hours of the André Ricard exhibition
Image courtesy of: MDF26
The exhibition will be open to the public between February 6 and May 3, 2026, during the following hours:
- Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Visitors must leave the exhibition hall 10 minutes before closing time.
- Closed on Mondays.