French "Joker" Chairs by Olivier Mourgue
View Similar Items
French "Joker" Chairs by Olivier Mourgue
About the Item
- Creator:Olivier Mourgue (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)Depth: 28 in (71.12 cm)Seat Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970's
- Condition:Chrome is in excellent condition. Leather is in very good original condition with a great patina.
- Seller Location:San Juan Capistrano, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U1211059220306
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.
More From This Seller
View All20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Dining Room Chairs
Oak
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Papercord, Oak
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Wood, Oak
20th Century English Primitive Benches
Oak
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic
You May Also Like
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1970s French Patio and Garden Furniture
Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century French Space Age Lounge Chairs
Steel
