Designed for a 1938 exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich (one of the first large–scale presentations of Le Corbusier's paintings), this poster exemplifies the architect's lifelong interest in a synthesis of the arts. It collages together the many elements of his practice: a Photostat of the architect’s Villa Savoye (1929–31) is overlaid with a series of organic forms that refer to the architect’s paintings and to the sculptures he made in collaboration with the woodworker and artist Joseph Savina (French, 1901–1983). The conjunction of colors, shapes, and disciplines resonates with an idea of collage as not just a formal operation but a dialogue among different ways in which cultural forms are made.
Gallery label from Cut 'n' Paste: From Architectural Assemblage to Collage City, July 10–December 1, 2013.