Pierre Paulin
| Pierre Paulin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
9 July 1927 Paris, France |
| Died | 13 June 2009 (aged 81) Montpellier, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Education | Ecole Camondo |
| Known for | Furniture Design |
| Notable work | Louvre's Furniture (1968), Mobilier National French Institution Furniture (1967-68) |
| Movement | Scandinavian, Japanese, Functional Furniture |
Pierre Paulin (9 July 1927 - 13 June 2009) was a French furniture designer and interior designer. His uncle Georges Paulin was a part-time automobile designer and invented the mechanical retractible hardtop, who was later executed by the Nazis in 1941 as a hero of the French Resistance. After failing his Baccalauréat, Pierre trained to become a ceramist in Vallaurius on the French Rivera and then as a stone-carver in Burgundy. Soon after, he injured his right arm in a fight, ending his dreams as a sculptor but attend the Ecole Camondo in Paris. He had a stint with the Gascoin company in Le Havre where he gained an interest in Scandinavian and Japanese design. He was famed for his innovative work with Artifort in the 1960s and interior design in the 1970s.
At the time, his chair designs were considered very modern and unique and kick-started the successes of his designs among the younger population. Even today, his pieces are still being made and are sought after at auctions.
Born in Paris in 1927, he had a French father and a German-speaking Swiss mother. He was as well the nephew of Georges Paulin who designed vehicles and invented the first mechanical retractible hardtop roof. Pierre Paulin had failed his Baccalauréat and moved on to train as a ceramist in Vallaurius and then as a stone-carver in Burgundy. Training as a sculptor, he would get into a fight that injured his right arm ending his dreams as a sculptor. He attend the Ecole Camondo in Paris afterwards. Relations with the Gascoin company, he would gain interest in Scandinavian and Japanese design which would influence his works later on.
Pierre Paulin had his debut exhibition at the Salon des arts ménagers in 1953. Afterwards, his would appear on the cover of the magazine La Maison Française. A year later he would be employed by the Thonet company and began experimenting with stretching swimwear materials over traditionally made chairs. Around 4 years later he would join the Maastricht-based Dutch manufacturers Artifort. Working at Artifort he would become famous worldwide with his Mushroom chair (1960). At his time working for Artifort, Paulin quoted "It represented the first full expression of my abilities. I considered the manufacture of chairs to be rather primitive and I was trying to think up new processes" he said in 2008, he worked with foams and rubbers from Italy all worked around a light metallic frame. He would then use a new stretch material over the chair. His designs were focused on applied design rather than focusing on form with comfort as his chair's starting-point. The combination of these materials made Paulin's chair designs rounder, and comfortable shapes that are still being used in chairs today.
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