Odile Decq: Through the Looking Glass

Odile Decq: Through the Looking Glass
June 21 – August 30, 2025
DOTS Gallery, website

Curators: Mirjana Dušić and Ljuba Jovićević
Project Initiator: Blanka Marković, Curator at MSUCG
Exhibition Design: Isidora M. Nikolić
Exhibition Duration: June 21 – August 30, 2025

About the Exhibition

The solo exhibition Through the Looking Glass by Odile Decq (Laval, 1955), one of the most prominent French figures in contemporary architecture, offers an in-depth look into the work of this multidisciplinary architect and recipient of the prestigious Jane Drew Prize. Her distinctive, fluid design language bridges architecture, design, art, and urbanism.

Spanning several decades, Decq’s body of work is defined by her consistent exploration of space across various media and scales—from urban landscapes to everyday objects. Whether designing a museum (MACRO, Rome), a restaurant interior (Phantom, Opéra Garnier, Paris), or furniture (UNESCO Headquarters Furniture, Paris), she remains committed to challenging outdated norms and crafting bold solutions that redefine the boundaries of the known, the feasible, and the acceptable.

Her expressive and unconventional personality, which set her apart on the architectural scene in the 1970s, is reflected in her dynamic forms, bold geometries, vibrant colors, and unexpected material combinations.

The Belgrade exhibition presents a diverse array of media that reflect Odile Decq’s creative universe. The display includes original architectural drawings that reveal her exceptional spatial imagination, alongside silkscreens and digital prints—where red emerges as a carefully curated yet unmistakable signature—offering insight into her graphic language and capacity to abstract architectural concepts into powerful two-dimensional images.

A central piece of the exhibition, the installation Horizon, transforms the gallery into an evocative space of perceptual exploration, creating an environment that appears to “escape toward the horizon.” Through the use of transparent materials and reflective surfaces, Decq destabilizes the viewer’s perception of physical space, opening a pathway into the unknown. The element of movement is introduced through the kinetic sculpture Spatial Lines, while her mastery in design and the impression of “considered comfort” is embodied in the Candle Light lighting series.

The exhibition concludes with a section dedicated to Decq’s most renowned architectural projects—from museum buildings (MACRO, FRAC, Tangshan), through various types of residential housing (Glass House, Fortin House, Saint Ange Residence), to her latest achievement, the Antares residential tower in Barcelona. This project exemplifies a total work of art, where every element—from the spatial concept and facade to the interiors, lighting, furniture, and details—is conceived and crafted as part of a unified artistic vision.

The exhibition is supported by the French Embassy in Belgrade and the French Institute in Serbia.
Exhibition duration: June 21 – August 30, 2025