Orange Slice Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980s
About the Item
- Creator:Artifort (Manufacturer),Pierre Paulin (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 27.96 in (71 cm)Width: 33.86 in (86 cm)Depth: 33.47 in (85 cm)Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1980
- Condition:Reupholstered. The chair is just upholstered with new foam and new wool fabric.
- Seller Location:Oud Beijerland, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5578222897072
Orange Slice Chair
Designed in 1960, the playful Model F437, or, more commonly, the Orange Slice chair, was organic before it was trendy to be so. Its rounded, concave shells — which appear to be curling up or unfurling based on your perspective of the brightly colored piece — appropriately resemble its pulpy namesake. French designer Pierre Paulin (1927–2009) created this chair as part of his half-century-long association with Dutch manufacturer Artifort. It is emblematic of his creative roots in sculpture as a student at the École Camondo in Paris as well as the inspiration he found in prominent innovative designers like Charles and Ray Eames.
Paulin designed furniture for Thonet early in his career, but the forms that defined the better-known work he produced at Artifort, such as the Tongue chair and the Mushroom chair, were far more fluid and abstract. In the early 1950s, Paulin was working with bent plywood, and by the 1960s, he was exploring synthetics such as polyurethane foam and rubber. The charming and cheeky Orange Slice — which is comprised of identical curved shells of foam-covered pressed beech mounted on a chromed or powder-coated metal frame — was designed at the juncture between the purely functional modernism, the colorful and exuberant Space Age and the postmodernist era. Artifort continues to produce the chair, adding an accompanying ottoman and an expanded range of upholstery options, including leather and other structured fabrics by textile manufacturer Kvadrat, to the collection.
Pierre Paulin
Pierre Paulin introduced a fresh breeze into French furniture design in the 1960s and ’70s, fostering a sleek new space-age aesthetic. Along with Olivier Mourgue, Paulin developed furnishings with flowing lines and almost surreal naturalistic forms. And his work became such a byword for chic, forward-looking design and emerging technologies that two French presidents commissioned him to create environments in the Élysée Palace in Paris.
Paulin was born in Paris to a family of artists and designers. He initially sought to become a ceramist and sculptor and was studying in the town of Vallauris near the Côte d'Azur — a center for pottery making, where Pablo Picasso spent his postwar summers crafting ceramics — but broke his hand in a fight. He enrolled at the École Camondo, the Paris interior design school. There, Paulin was strongly influenced by the work of Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Arne Jacobsen, as was reflected in his early creations for the manufacturer Thonet-France. It was at the Dutch firm Artifort, which he joined in 1958, where Paulin blossomed. In a few years, he produced several of his signature designs based on abstract organic shapes. These include the Butterfly chair (1963), which features a tubular steel frame and slung leather, and a group of striking seating pieces made with steel frames covered in polyurethane foam and tight jersey fabric: the Mushroom (1960), Ribbon (1966) and Tongue (1967) chairs.
In 1971, the Mobilier National — a department of France’s Ministry of Culture in charge of furnishing top-tier government offices and embassies — commissioned Paulin to redesign President Georges Pompidou’s private apartment in the Élysée Palace. In three years, Paulin transformed the staid rooms into futuristic environments with curved, fabric-clad walls and furnishings such as bookcases made from an arrangement of smoked-glass U shapes, flower-like pedestal chairs and pumpkin-esque loungers. Ten years later, the Mobilier National called on Paulin again, this time to furnish the private office of President François Mitterand. Paulin responded with an angular, postmodern take on neoclassical furniture, pieces that looked surprisingly at home in the paneled, Savonnerie-carpeted Louis XVI rooms. As those two Élysée Palace projects show, Paulin furniture works well both in a total decor or when used as a counterpoint to traditional pieces. You will see on 1stDibs that Pierre Paulin’s creations have a unique personality: bright and playful yet sophisticated and suave.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Aalsmeer, Netherlands
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Orange Slice Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLThe famous Artifort orange slice chair by Pierre Paulin, designed in the 60s. This original chair with chromed legs is produced in the 80s. It is a...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Orange Slice Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLThe famous Artifort orange slice chair by Pierre Paulin, designed in the 60s. This original chair with chromed legs is produced in the 80s. It is a cute and very comfortable chair. ...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Orange Slice Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLThe famous Artifort Orange Slice chair by Pierre Paulin, designed in the 60's. This is an original set with chromed legs, they are...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Orange Slice Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLThe famous Artifort orange slice chair by Pierre Paulin. Designed in the 60's and produced in the 80's. Cute and very comfort...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Orange Slice Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLThe famous Artifort orange slice chair by Pierre Paulin, designed in the 60s. This is an original set with chromed legs, they are produced in the 80s. ...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsChrome, Steel
- Orange Slice Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLThe famous Artifort orange slice chair by Pierre Paulin, designed in the 60s. This original chair with chromed legs is produced in the 80s. It is a...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Orange Slice Chairs by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980s, Set of 2By Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in ŁÓDŹ, PLThe famous Artifort orange slice chairs by Pierre Paulin. Designed in the 60s and produced in the 80s. Cute and very comfortable chairs. They have chrome metal legs. This gorgeous...Category
Late 20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pierre Paulin for Artifort Pink Orange Slice ArmchairBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in London, GBOriginally designed by Pierre Paulin in collaboration with Artifort in the 50s, the Orange Slice chair was not manufactured until 1960, and has since gone on to become a design icon. The unique design was conceived after Paulin began using the technique of folding plywood...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
- Customizable Artifort Orange Slice Armchair by Pierre PaulinBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in New York, NYThe Orange Slice armchair by designer Pierre Paulin is one of the most popular design armchairs in the world. The iconic armchair makes every roo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTextile
- Customizable Artifort Orange Slice Armchair by Pierre PaulinBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in New York, NYThe orange slice armchair by designer Pierre Paulin is one of the most popular design armchairs in the world. The iconic armchair makes every roo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTextile
- Slice armchair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1960sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Brussels, BESlice Chair "model F437", designed by Pierre Paulin for Artifort in 1959. It's made of two identical shells … a simple aesthetic. Each perspective reveals a new shape. This armchair...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
- F784 “Concorde” Lounge Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Hilversum, NLPierre Paulin and Artifort developed this ‘Concorde’ lounge chair back in 1960s. The chair has the beautiful original De Ploeg fabric and attract...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
At Château La Coste, Pierre Paulin’s Visionary Home Concept Finally Comes to Life
Now synonymous with 1960s and ’70s French chic, the designer conceived his modular modernist furnishings to change the way we decorate.
Exploring Our Current Obsession with Sixties Style
A new exhibition in Philadelphia stars a complex decade that continues to inspire.