The Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli is honoring one of the greatest French designers of the 20th century, Jean Prouvé. The same emotion and passion that animated Laurence and Patrick Seguin are what the two are trying to convey with this 40-piece exhibit.
Architect Jean Prouvé was relatively unknown in the 80s when Laurence and Patrick Seguin discovered him. Jean Prouvé, born on the cusp of the 20th century, was a fervent admirer of industrial art, which he hoped to make universal, uniting functionality and rational fabrication. Well before Ikea, Jean Prouvé expressed a desire to produce collapsible and easy-to-transport furniture, earning a place for himself in the Artistes Modernes movement epitomized by Le Corbusier. The construction of a piece of furniture and that of a building were for Jean Prouvé one and the same; he applied the same methodology in both domains.
Jean Prouvé undeniably left his mark on the history of architecture and construction of the 20th century, participating in the construction of numerous monuments that are now classified as historic – the Nobel tower (now the Initiale tower) in Paris’ La Défense district is one example. If you had to retain one of Jean Prouvé’s work, it should without a doubt be the Métropole house, created in 1948. Conceived with the aim of being rebuilt, it was an adaptable model for any type of site, entirely made of steel thanks to two portico carriers that left interior space open in what we call today an “open space”. It was so well-thought and practical that it won a prize from France’s Minister of Education, owing to the fact that it allowed for a rapid-fire way to build rural schools en masse.
This masterpiece of nomadic construction, measuring 8 meters x 12, will be set up in two days by four people on the roof of the Lingotto building in Turin. Other prototypes and rare copies will also be displayed for the first time. You’ll be able to enjoy the famed armchair made for the University of Nancy in 1932, or furniture that was shipped off to Africa. With Laurence and Patrick Seguin’s private collection on display from April 6th to September 13th in the Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin is now housing the works of one of the greatest 20th century designers, who knew just how to manipulate the rules and materials of his era to reinvent them. Today, he is being recognized – not least of all by this exhibit – in line with his great talent.
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