Jean-Paul Barray and Kim Moltzer

JEAN-PAUL BARRY (France, 1930-2012) & KIM MOLTZER (Germany, 1938) for Bofinger.
Pair of "Penta" chairs. Original design from 1968.
Zinc-colored metal wire frame.
Foldable for storage or transport.
Red fabric seat.
This model was acquired by the collection of the Centre Pompidou Museum in Paris (AM 1993-1-377).
Measurements: 69 x 90 x 100 cm; 35 cm (seat height).

Manufactured by Bofinger in the 1960s, the Penta chair is the flagship design of the collaboration between Kim Moltzer and Jean-Paul Barray. It has a wire structure with five points that draw a hexagon from which the fabric seat hangs and is elongated at the legs in the form of triangles whose vertices form a larger hexagon at the base. It is an extremely versatile and attractive model. The five points can be folded for easy transport.

Raised in Argentina, Kim Moltzer was born in Berlin to a Dutch family of Austrian origin. He began his studies at the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne before settling in Paris in the late 1950s. In 1966, he founded ECFI (Études construction formes industrielles) with architect Jean-Paul Barray. In 1968, Design SA published the Rosace table and, later, the Penta line with the German company Bo nger. Together with Jean-Paul Barray, he designed a lamp with pivoting metal faces for the decorator Henri Samuel. In addition, he furnished a hotel in Como, Italy, worked for the National Education and designed seating for President Pompidou's house in Cajarc, in the Lot department. In 1974, Kim Moltzer closed his design studio, but continued his work as an interior decorator, which he had begun a few years earlier. He imagined highly constructed volumes in which light plays a predominant role. For his very confidential private clients, he designed furniture and lighting fixtures in bronze or brass in which one can recognize bamboo stalks, giant plant leaves or flower pistils, creations of refinement coupled with a touch of humor that suits him perfectly. After his death, his daughter Isabelle continued her father's work and published exclusively with the Alexandre Biaggi gallery the Griffe console.

Jean-Paul Barray, after studying fine arts in Lyon, moved to Paris in 1952 and began his collaboration with architects (Le Corbusier, André Wogenscky in 1956) and then with the industrial design agency Technes where he worked with Roger Tallon (from 1958). Jean-Paul Barray's career developed a brilliant career in the world of design, as well as in architecture and abstract painting. He participated in the First Paris Biennale at the age of 58, invited by Pierre Soulages. In 1962, he exhibited at the 18th Salon de Mai, and created murals for Aquitaine-Organic, Soletanche and Corona. In 1967, in collaboration with Kim Moltzer, he designed a chair, table and lamp for the Penta collection. These works will become part of the collections of the Pompidou Center.