Pierre Paulin

Globally celebrated and exhibited, Pierre Paulin (1927-2009) was a French designer whose complex approach made him an architect of the imagination, an unpredictable and solitary designer despite himself. Born to a French father and a Swiss-German mother, Paulin grew up with two exceptional uncles. His paternal uncle, Georges Paulin, was the inventor of the Eclipse, the world's first retractable hardtop system, thanks to which Peugeot produced the first convertible coupé. Another uncle, Freddy Stoll, was a sculptor whose influence compelled Pierre to study ceramics in Vallauris and stone sculpture in Burgundy, intending to become a sculptor himself. However, an injury to a tendon in his right arm forced him to change direction, so he enrolled in the École Camondo design school in Paris, where he had the opportunity to work in the workshop of furniture designer Marcel Gascoin.

He travelled extensively, both in Scandinavia and the United States, where he found inspiration in the work of the Eameses and George Nelson. Starting in 1954, he began collaborating with Thonet, for whom he designed desks and chairs, after the success of the objects exhibited at the Salon des Arts ménagers in Paris. In 2008, the CM 141 desk (today Tanis) and the CM 131 chair were reissued by Ligne Roset, maintaining their original lines and enhancing the finishes. The company also released a new version of the TV chair in tubular steel and fabric upholstery; the minimalist Daybed bench, already a success in the 1950s with its combined sofa/coffee table Scandinavian design; the Elysée fabric armchair, designed for the French presidential palace in the 1970s; and the cosy, soft Bonnie sofa, whose design was reworked based on one of the very rare examples available on the collectors' market.

Not to be forgotten are Paulin's iconic designs for Artifort, including chairs like Mushroom (1959), Orange Slice (1960), Tulip (1965) and Ribbon (1966), all of which have become classics still in production today. These chairs reveal his eclectic and sculptural approach in line with 1960s tastes.