For the eighth edition of TEFAF New York GALERIE PATRICK SEGUIN presents a selection of pieces by JEAN PROUVÉ, CHARLOTTE PERRIAND and PIERRE JEANNERET, key figures of 20th-century architecture and design.
The gallery exhibits a selection of iconic furniture, lighting and architectural pieces by JEAN PROUVÉ, “constructor” of visionary genius and resolutely modern.
Believing that “there is no difference between the construction of a piece of furniture and a building”, Jean Prouvé developed a “constructive idea” based on a rationale of fabrication and functionality that generated a clean aesthetic. This avant-garde thinking, coupled with humanitarian preoccupations and the notable innovative qualities that marked his work as a whole, continues to demonstrate their timeless modernity.
In particular, this exhibition includes a very rare rolling step-ladder made for the BNP Paribas bank vaults in Paris – of which an example is held in the collection of the Centre Pompidou; an exceptional lighting ramp made for the Social Security offices in Le Mans and produced in only 12 copies; a façade panel with portholes of contrasting-colored surfaces from one of the two ‘Maisons Tropicales’ in Brazzaville (Congo), icons of modernist architecture; a panel with portholes from a ‘Metropole’ house, characteristic of Prouvé’s functional approach to design; an ultra-rare sideboard characterized by its smaller size; and a large, very sleek swing-jib lamp.
A perfect blend of simplicity and elegance, a sofa and two fireside chairs designed by PIERRE JEANNERET for the High Court and the University of Punjab in Chandigarh (India); and majestic bookshelves by CHARLOTTE PERRIAND, a one-off piece commissioned to Editions Steph Simon in 1959 complete the setting.
TEFAF New York Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue New York, NY 10065
