Mushroom Armchair Set by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, Set of 2
View Similar Items
Mushroom Armchair Set by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, Set of 2
About the Item
- Creator:Pierre Paulin (Artist),Thonet (Maker)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 25.2 in (64 cm)Width: 33.86 in (86 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Lasne, BE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4853225598792
Mushroom Chair
Plush, sculptural and low to the ground, the Mushroom chair is seating that prioritizes comfort over formality. Designed in 1960 to envelop the body, it anticipated an audacious era of exploration and rampant challenges to conventionality, and with its bright-colored fabric and bold organic form, the Mushroom chair was an immediate hit upon its release. For French designer Pierre Paulin (1927–2009), who had been in search of new methods of manufacturing chairs when he conceived of this provocative piece, he’d come a long way.
Paulin initially pursued ceramics and then trained as a sculptor in Burgundy, but gave up the latter after he injured his arm during a fistfight. Instead, he attended the École Camondo in Paris. “To make drawings of Louis XVI chairs was a good education, like learning Latin,”' he later said of his time at the institution. Early-career modernist experiments saw Paulin working with bent plywood processes and covering chair frames with stretched womens’ swimwear pieces during his tenure at Thonet — endeavors that would preface his celebrated work at Dutch manufacturer Artifort in the years that followed.
The production behind the Mushroom chair was nothing short of revolutionary, even though it required minimal materials. Underneath its single-piece elastic stretch jersey cover, a frame of steel tubing covered with molded foam padding comprises the piece’s alluring shape. Paulin would continue to use this construction technique at Artifort throughout the decade, including in two of his memorable designs, the Ribbon chair (1966) and the Tongue chair (1967). Still manufactured by Artifort, the Mushroom chair is as striking and seductive as ever.
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.
- Model 4801 Armchairs by Joe Colombo for Kartell, 1960s, set of 2By Kartell, Joe ColomboLocated in Lasne, BESet of 2 white wooden armchairs designed by Joe Colombo, Model 4801. Numbered 121. Seat height 34cm. Wear due to time and age.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood
- Model 4801 Armchairs by Joe Colombo for Kartell, 1960s, set of 2By Kartell, Joe ColomboLocated in Lasne, BESet of 2 white wooden armchairs designed by Joe Colombo, Model 4801. Numbered 16. Seat height 34cm. Wear due to time and age.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood
- Pair of Armchairs by Warren Platner for Knoll International, 1960sBy Knoll, Warren PlatnerLocated in Lasne, BEArmchair by Warren Platner in metal and with original red fabric. Knoll edition. Seat height: 47 cm. Wear due to time and age of the armchair.Category
Vintage 1960s Central American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Cm141 Desk by Pierre Paulin for Thonet, 1954By Thonet, Pierre PaulinLocated in Lasne, BEDesk with two wooden drawers, formica top and metal legs by Pierre Paulin. Marks of wear on the top due to the age of the desk.Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsMetal
- Amanta Lounge chairs by Mario Bellini for C&B Italia, 1960s, set of 4By Mario Bellini, C&B ItaliaLocated in Lasne, BESet of 4 woollen armchairs with fibreglass shell. Designed by Mario Bellini for C&B Italia. Seat height: 43 cm. Stamped C&B Italia. They can be modular or attached together. Wear due...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFiberglass, Wool
- Alky Chairs by Giancarlo Piretti for Anonima Castelli, 1970s, Set of 2By Anonima Castelli, Giancarlo PirettiLocated in Lasne, BEPair of alky chairs in red fabric designed by Giancarlo Piretti in the 70s. Seat height: 37cm. Wear due to time and age.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pierre Paulin F560 Mushroom for Artifort, Netherlands, circa 1970By Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Pijnacker, Zuid-HollandMushroom f-560 lounge chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, Netherlands – circa 1970. The chair is made in a very dark brown (almost black) wool fabric by Kvadrat. The condition of th...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Wool
$3,075 Sale Price20% Off - Mushroom Armchair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1970'sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLVery comfortable Artifort Mushroom chair, designed by Pierre Paulin in the 60's. This original Mushroom Chair is made in the 70's. It is covered with the original Kvadrat Tonus woo...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Mushroom Armchair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLVery comfortable and cosy Artifort Mushroom chair, designed by Pierre Paulin in the 60s. These particular chairs are fabricated in the 80s Covered with very exclusive Dedar Ital...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
- Mushroom Armchair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort, 1980'sBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLVery comfortable and cosy Artifort Mushroom chair, designed by Pierre Paulin in the 60’s. This particular chair is fabricated in the 80's ...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
- "Big Mushroom" Armchair by Pierre Paulin for ArtifortBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLComfort at the utmost! This stunning "Big Mushroom" chair is designed by Pierre Paulin in the beginning of the 60's. It is fabricated by Artifort. Covered with very special and hig...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFoam, Wood, Fabric
- Big Mushroom Armchair by Pierre Paulin for ArtifortBy Artifort, Pierre PaulinLocated in Oud Beijerland, NLExtremely comfortable and cosy Artifort big mushroom chair, designed by Pierre Paulin in the 60's. This lovely chair is covered with the original Kvadrat ...Category
2010s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Pierre Paulin Is Still Groovy after All These Years
A sprawling show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris spotlights the famed furniture designer’s oeuvre, including rooms for two French presidents.
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.