Shaped plate and curved tubular steel. Conical elements reveal mechanical forces in action. The delicate line of the arm rest and chair leg also frames individual parts. Jean Prouvé’s furniture classics focus on their own construction and the clear language of necessity that dictates their aesthetic principle. Prouvé was an enthusiastic teacher and engineer, architect, practical worker and visionary producer of his designs. His inventions made the Frenchman a pioneer in the mass production of furniture and industrial construction of buildings. Both archaic and discreet, his furniture pieces are early prototypes of 1930s industrial design and examples of a matter-of-fact construction type that forgoes any ornamentation.
The Fauteuil de Salon from 1939 combines plain surfaces into a complete architectural form with a comfortable seat and backrest. Rediscovered in the archives of the French design engineer, the chair's colour was adapted for modern tastes in cooperation with Cathérine Prouvé and the Dutch fashion label, G-Star. "For me, the Prouvé RAW Collection is a homage to my father", remarks Cathérine Prouvé. In harmonious grey and white, the attentive re-interpretation emphasises the chair's shapes, restorning the essence of Prouvé’s design. Following its first appearance in 1939, the Fauteuil de Salon is now entering mass production.
"Build for eternity and objects might become relics of the past. Build for one generation and they might last for generations. "
Designer: Jean Prouvé
Switzerland
