From 6 February to 3 May, as part of the Madrid Design Festival 2026, the Fernán Gómez cultural centre is putting on an exhibition that showcases a paradigm shift in living, through a selection of furniture from various designers, mostly European.
The exhibition helps to showcase artists and designers who, through craftsmanship and research, are reclaiming our roots, folklore and techniques using traditional languages. It also features artists who adapt these techniques to create more contemporary and innovative languages, such as art designers, a group of self-editing creatives who form an emerging post-industrial society. They seek to express the need to build a community that is more sustainable, democratic, less consumerist, more genuine and connected to nature, where industry and capitalism no longer dictate time or form.
A selection of more than 30 artists and designers safeguard and renew the legacy of the Mediterranean —in knowledge, thought, human life, craftsmanship and design— from emerging talents to established figures. Craftsmanship is undoubtedly a way to claim our cultural identity and intangible heritage, while telling stories through constant experimentation.
From textile artists, glass artisans, ceramists, potters, basket weavers, mosaicists, carpenters, furniture designers and many other crafts, this new generation seeks to democratise the world and tell their own stories.
The exhibition emphasises the great cultural value of the Mediterranean, its worldview, its richness and plurality. It also highlights the importance of being present, becoming aware of our actions and everything around us, including objects.
