Art Deco: A Timeless and Universal Design Language

Art Deco's enduring appeal lies in its blend of classic glam and symmetrical design, reflecting local spirit while remaining globally recognizable. The style's 100th anniversary sparks renewed interest and exhibitions.

” We were struck by the extraordinary parallels,” Art Deco Alive! co-founder Salma Seller Rahmathulla informs The Art Newspaper. “Both are coastal cities shaped by movement, and both are home to impressive Art Deco design … That seemed like an untold tale waiting to be shared.”

Alex Bass similarly sees the present momentum as topical rather than nostalgic. “I believe it’s telling that turning up on 100 years of Deco we are encountering a comparable experience currently with quick technical booms,” she claims. “As we look for haven from the speed and sound of modern-day life, Deco gives a calm, harmonious visual.” A century on, Art Deco checks out as a shared universal language that draws cultures and cities, the profession and establishments right into one conversation– from Paris to Mumbai, and almost everywhere in between.

Art Deco’s Centenary Celebrations

For Art Deco, the French-led Modernist style that flourished in between the world battles, this autumn is a peak 100 years in the making. The centenary event at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 1925-2025: One Hundred Years of Art Deco (till 26 April 2026) leads the institutional charge, with smaller programmes at the city’s Musée Zadkine and Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine. A poster-centred study at the London Transportation Gallery matches them from throughout the Network.

The 1925 Paris Exposition: A Turning Point

The style idiom entered focus at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a Paris profession fair that stretched from the Grand Palais to the Esplanade des Invalides and drew around 16 million visitors. It extended theater, architecture and furnishings and crystallised the function of the ensemblier– the developer of overall insides– with Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann as its best-known specialist.

For Rahmathulla, the draw is both aesthetic and civic: “Art Deco has a capability to reflect the spirit and adapt of each area, while still feeling promptly recognisable. It’s both global and neighborhood, timeless and prompt.”

Art Deco: Global and Local Adaptations

“Art Deco is more than a style– it is a language of style, rhythm and equilibrium that has spoken with generations across a century,” says Laura Tsoukala, the owner and supervisor of the Athens-based Stefanidou Tsoukala Gallery, which has actually developed an Art Deco programme over several years along with specialising in Greek musicians and developers. Connecting the expression’s transcultural appeal to its sustained dialogue with antiquity, the gallery attracted the contrast directly at PAD London by revealing elbow chairs by Leleu. “Their sculptural volumes recall the poise and toughness of classic statuary,” Tsoukala says. “One can see the timeless spirit reinterpreted– classical times born-again in modern form.”

The centenary exhibition at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 1925-2025: One Hundred Years of Art Deco (till 26 April 2026) leads the institutional cost, with smaller sized programs at the city’s Musée Zadkine and Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine. At PAD London last month, Galerie Jacques Lacoste showcased a committed Deco stand underpinned by pieces by Diego Giacometti, and concentrated Deco presentations are planned at Beauty salon Art + Design fair at the Park Opportunity Depot, New York (6-10 November). “By the late 1960s, Art Deco had actually been nearly completely failed to remember,” Marcilhac claims, directing to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’ 1966 event Les Années 25: Art Deco, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Esprit Nouveau for effectively revitalising the motion and calling. “There’s a huge draw to Art Deco right currently,” says Alex Bass, the creator and primary executive of the New York art advisory and indoor style workshop Salon 21.” Art Deco is more than a design– it is a language of style, rhythm and balance that has spoken to generations throughout a century,” says Laura Tsoukala, the owner and director of the Athens-based Stefanidou Tsoukala Gallery, which has built an Art Deco program over a number of years in enhancement to specialising in Greek artists and developers.

More youthful designers verify this pull. “There’s a big draw to Art Deco now,” claims Alex Bass, the founder and president of the New York art advisory and interior decoration workshop Beauty parlor 21. She sees demand on twin tracks: some clients seek an overall Deco plan while others try to find a solitary statement piece.

To understand the category’s durability, begin with the name. “Art Deco” is a post-war tightening of artsdécoratifs (attractive arts); contemporaries in the 1920s favoured the more comprehensive term le design moderne (the contemporary style).

Art Deco’s Resurgence and Modern Appeal

Priorities tilted in the direction of mass production over hand-finishing after the 2nd Globe Battle, and the style befalled of favour. “By the late 1960s, Art Deco had been virtually entirely forgotten,” Marcilhac states, indicating the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’ 1966 exhibition Les Années 25: Art Deco, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Esprit Nouveau for efficiently revitalising the motion and naming. Expert dealers complied with, consisting of the gallery established by his dad, Félix Marcilhac Sr, in 1969.

This universality likewise underpins a new campaign this season. The Art Deco Alive! program has organised linked occasions in consecutive months in 2 cities with the largest focus of Deco style worldwide: Miami in October, and Mumbai this month.

Art Deco: More Than a Style

“Today, when people claim ‘Art Deco’, they’re normally referring to that mix of classic glam and vibrant, symmetrical design, instead of any one details designer or decade,” Bass claims, including that the genre’s worldwide breadth “enables enthusiasts to tap into a design that really feels universal, while still supplying one-of-a-kind regional expressions”.

According to Félix Marcilhac, the proprietor and director of Galerie Marcilhac in Paris, the design integrated “conventional cabinetmaking strategies and luxurious products like lacquer, shagreen [a type of rawhide], unusual timbers and great marquetry, in connection with the craftsmanship of the 18th century”.

“Art Deco remains a living layout language,” Marcilhac tells The Art Newspaper. “Because the gallery’s foundation, we have actually observed brand-new dynamics: wider geographical demand, significantly in the USA and Asia, as well as even more diverse buyer accounts, with younger collection agencies increasingly attracted to both the patrimonial value and the decorative refinement of these jobs.”

Elephant elbow chairs (around 1926) by the French Art Deco furniture-maker and indoor designer Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, from Paris-based Galerie Marcilhac, which is showing at Beauty parlor Art + Style in New York this month

Deco has actually likewise been reverberating across the global art reasonable circuit all period. Eileen Gray’s celebrated Dragon armchair (1917-19)– sold in 2009 for $28m at Christie’s from the collection of developer Yves Saint Laurent and his companion Pierre Bergé– was redisplayed at the FAB Paris fair in September. At PAD London last month, Galerie Jacques Lacoste showcased a specialized Deco stand underpinned by pieces by Diego Giacometti, and concentrated Deco discussions are intended at Salon Art + Layout fair at the Park Avenue Depot, New York (6-10 November). Much task shows that this historic motion never fairly left the phase.

Art Deco’s reach was worldwide from the start. A reduced variation of the 1925 Paris presentation explored the United States the list below year, seeing nine cities from New york city to Detroit, while artists and developers such as Jules Leleu, René Lalique and Sonia Delaunay expanded the idiom’s reach across continental Europe and past.