LE CORBUSIER / PIERRE JEANNERET, CHANDIGARH, INDIA, 1952-56

Ileana Sonnabend is positively one of the most emblematic and influential figures of contemporary art. She has always devoted herself to discovering twentieth century talents such as Johns, Rauschenberg, Twombly, Warhol, Gilbert & George, Koons, etc, that she continues to promote in her New York gallery. In 2003, Sonnabend Gallery invited Galerie Patrick Seguin to organize a major show around JEAN PROUVÉ, one of the great constructors of the XXth century. In the same logic, the two galleries come together again to present the furniture designed by LE CORBUSIER and PIERRE JEANNERET for the wide urbanism and architectural project of Chandigarh (India). This furniture set (tables, desks, lighting table, chairs, conference chairs, armchairs, benches, day beds, stools, screens…) conceived for the city’s large public infrastructures is in line with each building’s various functions, which are both practical and emblematic. Among the pieces displayed are the very large scale « High Court » table in teak and an exterior concrete light by Le Corbusier. Patrick Seguin asked India Madhavi to design a set for the show. With in mind to reinstate the furniture in its original context, she imagined a display evocative of the Chandigarh project in some of its defining features.