'Ben' Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort
View Similar Items
'Ben' Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort
About the Item
- Creator:Pierre Paulin (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.93 in (76 cm)Width: 27.56 in (70 cm)Depth: 28.35 in (72 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1980
- Condition:Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7431230874972
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.
- ‘Ben’ Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1970sBy Pierre Paulin, ArtifortLocated in Hilversum, NLIn the late 1960s and early 1970s French designer Pierre Paulin created several sculptural masterpieces for Dutch manufacturer Artifort. We are happy to offer this beautiful Artifort “Ben...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- "Ben" Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Pierre Paulin, ArtifortLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLVery comfortable Artifort "Ben" chair. The famous Pierre Paulin designed it in the 80's and named it after his favorite Artifort colleague. Just restored with lovely bouclé woo...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAluminum
$2,494 / item - "Ben" Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Pierre Paulin, ArtifortLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLVery comfortable Artifort "Ben" chair. The famous Pierre Paulin designed it in the 80's and named it after his favorite Artifort colleague. Just restored with lovely bouclé woo...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAluminum
$2,494 / item - Pierre Paulin “Ben” Lounge Chairs for ArtifortBy Pierre Paulin, ArtifortLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLPair Artifort Lounge Chairs designed by french designer Pierre Paulin. Labeled. Original fabric. 28w 29d 29h 17sCategory
1990s Dutch Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
$6,250 / set - Set of 2 "Ben" Chairs by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Pierre Paulin, ArtifortLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLSet of 2 very comfortable Artifort "Ben" chairs. The famous Pierre Paulin designed it in the 80's and named it after his favorite Artifort colleague. Just restored with lovely I...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Artifort Ribbon Chair by Pierre Paulin for ArtifortBy Pierre Paulin, ArtifortLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLAmazing Ribbon Chair in a very rare edition. It is designed by the famous Pierre Paulin (France) in the 60's and produced by Artifort (The Netherlands). This Iconic piece is produce...Category
Early 2000s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
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.