This is a homage to the talent of one of the most
important French designers of the mid-20th century.
In 1952, Pierre Paulin's first designs caught the
attention at the Thonet firm through which he
discovered and mastered new materials in the manner
of the American designers Eames, Saarinen and
Bertoia. It is only in 1956, after responding to
harry Wagemans'invitation to join Artifort, that
Paulin found the means and the support he needed to
realize the production of his designs. In his
concern for simplicity and refusal of any lyrical
effect, his designs were given numbers. His innovate
productions anticipated social revolutions through
the lifestyles they encouraged. At the end of the
1960's, Paulin benefited from a close collaboration
with the talented and inventive artisans of the new
atelier of research and creation from "le Mobilier
National", which coincided with the renovation of
the Denon wing of the Musée du Louvre, the
renovation of the private apartments of the
President Georges Pompidou at the Elysée and lastly
the creation of furniture for the Presidential
Office of François Mitterrand in 1983. Although
these prestigious commissions contributed to his
renown, other designs, however, permitted the public
to discover the comfort of modern living. These are
the designs which we have decided to present at the
gallery, a place that draws them closer to the
sculptural works that in essence, they are. At once
sculptural and rigorously functional, they're
studied forms cradle the body in perfect harmony. A
man of the future, Paulin scattered his path with
poetic objects that were ahead of their time and
whose rediscovery more than 30 years later inspire
admiration.
n° 553 - Designed in 1959, Manufacturer: Artifort
1963
It is one of the first models that Pierre Paulin
made for the company Artifort. This model, created
in 1959, uses the new techniques for the upholstery
in Pirelli foam - the gomma piuma Pirelli - with
prefabricated covers attached by a pneumatic
staples. The wooden shell had to be manufactured
using a huge apple press found in an old brewery
that Artifort purchased. The shell, in moulded
laminated wood, pivots on a foot in the form of a
tulip.
