FOR THE SHUTTERS:
Air France l'Unité d'Habitation, Brazzaville, Congo
Robert Rubin, New York
Sotheby's, New York, "Équipment Intérieur: A Private Collection," December 18, 2004, lot 509
Acquired from the above by the present owner
FOR THE PORTANTS:
Galerie de Beyrie, New York
Robert Rubin, New York
Sotheby's, New York, "Équipment Intérieur: A Private Collection," December 18, 2004, lot 508
Acquired from the above by the present owner
"Jean Prouvé: Three Nomadic Structures," Arthur Ross Gallery, Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, New York, April 12-May 10 and September 12, 2003-April 23, 2004
"Jean Prouvé: Three Nomadic Structures at MOCA Pacific Design Center," The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, August 14-November 27, 2005 (for the shutters only)
French • 1901 - 1984
Jean Prouvé believed in design as a vehicle for improvement. His manufactory Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, located in Nancy, France, produced furniture for schools, factories and municipal projects, both within France and in locations as far flung as the Congo. Though he designed for the masses, pieces such as his "Potence" lamps and "Standard" chairs are among the most iconic fixtures in sophisticated, high-design interiors today. Collectors connect with his utilitarian, austere designs that strip materials down to the bare minimum without compromising on proportion or style.
Prouvé grew up in Nancy, France, the son of Victor Prouvé, an artist and co-founder of the École de Nancy, and Marie Duhamel, a pianist. He apprenticed to master blacksmiths in Paris and opened a small wrought iron forge in Nancy. However it was sheet steel that ultimately captured Prouvé's imagination, and he ingeniously adapted it to furniture, lighting and even pre-fabricated houses, often collaborating with other design luminaries of the period, such as Robert Mallet-Stevens, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand.
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