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Q Regarding Charlotte Perriand’s lighting
programs, the partnership with Nemo has
indeed revealed to the world projects that
have remained hidden for many years and
immediately became icons.
What is the functional recipe for a research
and product development activity between
the Archives and Nemo?
A Every year we look for new drawings in
the Archives, and then we discuss them with
Federico Palazzari, who jumps on the
projects like a great chef grabs a recipe that
he had forgotten.
It is always a pleasure to work with Nemo
because we do current publishing, using the
constraints of contemporary standards and
techniques. Charlotte Perriand’s creations
edited by Nemo are not dead, frozen in time.
Charlotte loved technical innovation.
Introducing LEDs that did not exist in the
50s or 60s is natural, because Charlotte
Perriand’s approach was also to adapt to the
realities of the present.
Q From what can be seen, the link between
the Charlotte Perriand Archives and Italian
companies, Cassina for furniture and Nemo
for lighting, is a link of success.
What aspects of the Italian companies with
which you collaborate, especially Nemo,
contribute to valuing Charlotte Perriand’s
work?
A Nemo and Cassina always work with an
international perspective. They are
industrialists on a human scale who think of
the greater number, and who establish a
balance between an author’s projects (as we
say auteur cinema) and the general public.
Cassina or Nemo immediately understand the
projects when presented to them. We choose
together and go directly to the prototype.
Nemo has a sense of showcasing projects
with simple means, like Charlotte’s lighting.
Q Can you tell us about the most important
projects for the near future that the
Archives follow?
A We are looking forward to the prototype
of the next luminaire.
And especially the next Charlotte Perriand
exhibition in a major Italian museum. For
now, it is a secret!
Q In your opinion, is there a project, an
object, or a lamp from Charlotte Perriand’s
collection that summarizes and synthesizes
her values in one way or another?
A The Applique à Volet Pivotant wall lamp is
a masterpiece of design. It is available in
several variations and adapts to all
constraints. It is a butterfly on the wall that
illuminates the world close to the gaze.
Sometimes it is downright a multicolored
and joyful sculpture as if a flight of
butterflies had landed by good fortune.
Portrait of Charlotte Perriand. © FLC/ADAGP.
Perriand Archives
