Items Similar to Iconic 'Cubique' Chair by Olivier Mourgue for Airborne International, 1968

Olivier Mourgue Cubique Chairs Airborne France 1968

Olivier Mourgue 'Cubique' Chair by Airborne International, France, 1968

Djinn Chair by Olivier Mourgue for Airborne

Olivier Mourgue Chair by Airborne International, France

Djinn Chair + Ottoman by Olivier Mourgue for Airborne

‘Djinn’ Easy Chairs and Ottoman by Olivier Mourgue for Airborne

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

Iconic 'Cubique' Chair by Olivier Mourgue for Airborne International, 1968

About the Item

Iconic 'Cubique' chair designed by Olivier Mourgue for Airborne International, France 1968. The chair has a chromed tubular steel construction supporting a wire frame upholstered in blue jersey fabric. Wear consistent with age and use. The fabric is original and is overall good but has some very small damages (see pic). For this the chair can easily be reupholstered, Condition of the frame is good with only minor pitting to the chrome. Airborne perfected the technique of covering injected foam rubber with a synthetic knit jersey fabric. Launched in 1951 by Charles Bernard (1904-1994), Bernard was eager for Airborne to create original works with the design talents of the day. The company's first collaboration was with leading French designer Pierre Gauriche a partnership that led to the Prefacto series (1951-1953), but Airborne’s most innovative collaboration occurred when young designer Olivier Mourgue approached Bernard with his black leather Joker Easy Chair (1959). Bernard liked it and agreed to produce it. It was the beginning of a successful relationship that lasted over a decade and contributed to Airborne’s reputation taking off in France and abroad. Mourgue’s undulating Djinn Chair (1965) embodied the futuristic "Space Age" aesthetic of the 1960s and has taken its place in design history thanks to an appearance on the set of Stanley Kubrick’s 1967 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Following three years later, the Cubic chair (1968) was an immediate success. Sadly Airborne International ceased production under Bernard in 1974 and many of the lines, including the cubic chair, are no longer manufactured.

Creator:

Olivier Mourgue (Designer),Airborne (Manufacturer)

Dimensions:

Height: 25.2 in (64 cm)Width: 31.11 in (79 cm)Depth: 27.56 in (70 cm)Seat Height: 13.39 in (34 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Chrome,Steel,Upholstery

Place of Origin:

France

Period:

Mid-20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1968

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. The fabric is original and is overall good but has some very small damages (see pic). For this the chair can easily be reupholstered, please ask for info.

Seller Location:

Voorburg, NL

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU2047323818002

View Invoice

Shop All Olivier Mourgue

Olivier Mourgue

With its undulating, futuristic and playful form, it’s easy to see why filmmaker Stanley Kubrick chose to use Olivier Mourgue’s iconic Djinn chair in his 1968 masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. But the French artist and industrial designer is known for much more than the Space Age Djinn. From his whimsical Flower floor lamps to his anthropomorphic Bouloum chair, Mourgue is renowned as an important contributor to the 1960s Pop art era of modern furniture design.

Born in Paris in 1939, Mourgue grew up in an apartment filled with Empire-style antique furniture, which he derided as having “nothing to do with life.” He later studied art at Paris’s École Boulle, graduating in 1958. He then attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs.

In 1959, his former teacher at École Boulle, Marcel Merpillat, encouraged him to present a chair he designed at a competition hosted by furniture manufacturer Airborne. Airborne founder Charles Bernard was impressed by Mourgue’s design, which featured a leather-upholstered seat attached to a chrome steel frame; it was produced by the company under the name the Joker. Mourgue designed several other mid-century modern pieces for Airborne throughout the 1960s, including the Whist chaise longue, the rotund Montreal chair, the unique Cubique chair and the Djinn series, which first appeared in 1964.

In addition to Airborne, Mourgue has designed for furniture manufacturers such as Disderot and Prisunic, and collaborated with British architect and designer Sir Norman Foster and Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa.

Mourgue worked for Le Mobilier National to design the French Pavilion for Montreal’s Expo ‘67. In 1968, he received the International Design Award from the Institute of Interior Designers in New York for the Djinn lounge chair. He also exhibited several of his works at Expo ‘70 in Osaka, Japan.

Today, Mourgue’s pieces are part of the permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Olivier Mourgue seating, lighting and more.