Pierre Paulin

PIERRE PAULIN (France, 1927 - 2009). For Artifort, Holland.
Ribbon Chair. 1966.
Lacquered metal feet and fabric upholstery, original.
Covered with foam and elastic fabric.
In the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
Measurements: 72 x 100 x 74 cm; 39 cm seat height.

In the 1960s, Pierre Paulin designed the impressive "Ribbon Chair" for the Dutch firm Artifort, an iconic piece that had its starring role on the small screen as part of the Star Trek props. Specifically, it first appeared in the episode "The Cloud Minders", where this chair is used to indicate the high status of the most affluent and influential class. Paradoxically, in the season "The Next Generation," the chair reappears to express the exact opposite: it offers a vision of comfort and aesthetics attainable and accessible to all Federation citizens in a post-capitalist society based on cooperation and equality. "Ribbon Chair" is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. The design was novel and groundbreaking in both its technique and formal outcome. It takes the form of a folded ribbon, inspired by the ribbon or technical transfer printer's ribbon. It is also an incredibly comfortable chair. Its metal structure with horizontal springs is covered with foam and elastic fabric combined with a lacquered pedestal. A magnificent example of applied art.

The designer Pierre Paulin, considered one of the most important representatives of French design in the mid-twentieth century, and especially in the seventies, began working with the firm Thonet in 1952. During these years he would discover the use of new industrial materials, following in the footsteps of Eames, Saarinen and Bertoia. Only four years later, in 1956, he was invited to join the firm Artifort, where Paulin would find the support and means necessary to carry out his most personal designs. He generally titled his designs with numbers, following his idea of simplicity and rejection of any lyrical effect. In the late 1960s he benefited from collaboration with leading craftsmen in a new research and creative workshop, "Le Mobilier National", with which he carried out the renovation of the Denon wing of the Louvre Museum, that of President Georges Pompidou's private apartments at the Elysée and finally the creation of a series of furniture for François Mitterrand's presidential office in 1983. Although these important projects earned him an important reputation, Paulin was also recognized by the general public through designs such as the "553", the "300" or the "Butterfly" chair. Today his furniture pieces are present in major collections around the world, including the MoMA in New York and the Victoria & Albert in London.