French Masters: Charlotte Perriand

When I was told that Pernett Perriand and Jacques Barsac have provided photographic material and original documents from their archive as well as consigned one piece (lot #10) to Artcurial’s upcoming monograph design sale French Masters: Charlotte Perriand, I have realized that this event would become into an extraordinary occasion to look at the career of this remarkable talent, who began her career at the office of Le Corbusier and who had come to forge one of the most accomplished careers of 20-century design. Perriand, the only daughter and Barsac, a distinguished scholar of Perriand’s legacy have been considered the world’s foremost scholars and experts of this material, holding the designer’s extensive archive, recently published in three volumes Charlotte Perriand: Complete Works. The video I have recently produced with the support of Cassina and the New York School of Interior Design, seeks to examine issues in collecting furniture by the woman who was one of the most gifted and active designers in postwar France. A quintessential Modernist, she devoted her career to the pursuit of affordable, innovative furnishings which would improve the daily lives of millions living in France and its colonies. Through her vision, ambition, and imagination, Perriand embraced an aesthetic of simplicity and promoted a healthy lifestyle. She was fascinated with new materials and progressive technologies, 38 always merging craft and industry. Passionate about social progress, her contribution to standardization 10 and prefabrication was immense. The Machine-Age, to her was an engine to move modernism from the margins into the mainstream, and to grant designers with social responsibility. The sale will be taking place on October 24th, marking her 114th birthday.