Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Charlotte Perriand, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Charlotte Perriand
November 1, 2018 - January 12, 2019
Opening: Thursday, November 1st, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Venus Over Manhattan
980 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10075
(New York, NY) – Venus Over Manhattan is pleased to present an exhibition dedicated to Charlotte Perriand, one of the most famous designers of the twentieth-century, whose pioneering furniture and interiors helped shape the modernist movement. Produced in collaboration with Laffanour / Galerie Downtown, Paris, this is the largest exploration of Perriand’s work to be held in New York, comprising almost fifty works spanning the breadth of her nearly eight-decade career.
Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) was born in Paris and studied at the École de l’Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs. In 1927, she received wide praise for her presentation at the Salon d’Automne, which featured her Bar sous le toit, a bar made from polished aluminum and glass shelves. Le Corbusier was impressed with the project and hired Perriand to lead the design of all the interiors and furnishings for his projects. A highlight of the exhibition is one of Perriand’s earliest works made in collaboration with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, Fauteuil chrome tubulaire, Édition Thonet (c. 1928), a decisively modern chair that helped to forge a modern, machine aesthetic.
Fauteuil chrome tubulaire, Édition Thonet, c. 1928
At the Atelier Le Corbusier, Perriand designed a collection of furniture and standardized architectural elements meant for mass production, using tubular steel, leather cushions, and other materials that were then rarely used in domestic settings. She produced objects that took note of the human body and its standard movements, making chairs and tables that emphasized their function and simplicity, while maintaining striking sculptural silhouettes. In line with Corbusier’s philosophy of design, Perriand worked under the belief that intelligent and beautiful design would lead to a better life.
Also featured in the exhibition is an extremely rare six-sided table called Table à six pans (1949), based on the design of Perriand’s first wooden table, which she made in 1938 for her apartment in Montparnasse. Its organic and unorthodox shape was engineered to maximize the number of people who could sit comfortably around it. The piece signaled a shift in Perriand’s career: she started crafting wooden tables whose silhouettes delineated unexpected shapes, and she began working in earnest with furniture that she termed “en forme.”
Table à six pans, designed 1938, produced 1949
In 1940, Perriand moved to Japan at the invitation of the Japanese government, where she served as a cultural advisor on industrial arts. Her stay represented the first of two extended periods that she would spend in Japan, both of which had a profound impact on her design philosophy. She became increasingly interested in exploring natural forms, and began working with materials beyond the steel and leather for which she had become known. In Japan, Perriand reinterpreted many of her iconic designs from the Corbusier years in bamboo and other Japanese woods. This influence of her time in Japan is evident in Passe-Plats, Maison Borot (1959), a serving hatch that combines mahogany countertop with and bamboo detailing. This was part of her renovation and refurbishment of Jean and Huguette Borot’s home in Montmarte, a project she started in 1951 and which took fifteen years to complete.
Cuisine-bar Marseille, 1952
One of the most striking features of the exhibition is Cuisine-bar Marseille (1952), a kitchen Perriand designed for Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseille. She chose to position the kitchen at the center of the living space, an idea that, while familiar today, was very unusual at the time. The emphasis here was on transparency and integration, with an openness that encouraged those in the kitchen to participate in activities throughout the house, instead of remaining isolated.
Also on view in the exhibition is a separate room furnished with pieces Perriand designed for student accommodations at the Maison du Brésil in 1959, in collaboration with Le Corbusier, including a bed, desk and armoire. These displays offer incredible insight into the holistic approach of Perriand’s design philosophy, showcasing the comprehensive nature of her pioneering modernism, a vision forged by one of the few women to achieve such stellar art historical success.
ABOUT LAFFANOUR / GALERIE DOWNTOWN, PARIS
Galerie Downtown - François Laffanour specializes in 20th century European and American masters of design – most of them architects of the 20th century. Since opening in 1982, the gallery has organized thematic and monographic exhibitions on designers such as Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier, and Jean Royère. http://www.galeriedowntown.com/en/
Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret + Charlotte Perriand
Fauteuil chrome tubulaire, Édition Thonet, c. 1928
chromed tubular steel frame, canvas seat, backrest, and armrests
23 1/2 x 25 5/8 x 25 1/4 in
64 x 65 x 74 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Potence Pivotante, 1938
swinging jib lamp in black lacquered metal
46 1/2 x 87 1/2 in
118 x 222 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Armoire, c. 1946-1948
wooden storage unit with two sliding doors
47 3/4 x 76 1/2 x 17 in
121 x 194.3 x 43.2 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Table Basse BCB, c. 1947
circular wooden coffee table, on three legs
14 5/8 x 29 3/4 x 29 3/4 in
37 x 75.5 x 75.5 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Chaise de bureau BCB, 1949
wooden chair with three legs, curved backrest
26 x 13 3/8 x 13 3/8 in
66 x 34 x 34 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Fauteuil paillé, édition BCB, 1949
wood, rattan
31 7/8 x 26 x 22 in
81 x 66 x 56 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Tabouret BCB, c. 1949
wooden tripod stool
17 1/8 x 14 x 14 in
43.5 x 35.5 x 35.5 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Tabouret BCB, c. 1949
wooden stool with four legs
17 1/8 x 14 x 14 in
43.5 x 35.5 x 35.5 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Banquette Coquatrix, c. 1949
wooden banquette with underseat storage, upholstered in fabric by Simone Prouvé
30 x 63 x 27 1/2 in
76 x 160 x 70 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Table à six pans
designed 1938, produced 1949
six-sided pine table, with three cylindrical legs
28 x 73 x 50 1/2 in
71 x 185 x 128 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Table à extension, c. 1950
table: rectangular pinewood top on four ovoid legs
extension: square pinewood top on four cylindrical legs
table: 28 1/8 x 78 x 33 1/2 in (71.5 x 198 x 85 cm)
extension: 28 1/8 x 39 x 33 1/2 in (71.5 x 99 x 85 cm )
Charlotte Perriand
Banquette “traineau” Candilis, c. 1951
pine bed, with cushion, original upholstery by Simone Prouvé
9 1/8 x 80 3/8 x 33 1/2 in
23 x 204 x 85 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand + Le Corbusier
Cusine-bar Marseille, 1952
aluminum, wood, plywood
variable dimensions
Charlotte Perriand + Le Corbusier
Cusine-bar Marseille, 1952
aluminum, wood, plywood
variable dimensions
Charlotte Perriand + Le Corbusier
Cusine-bar Marseille, 1952
aluminum, wood, plywood
variable dimensions
Charlotte Perriand
Table rectangulaire, édition Steph Simon, c. 1956
oak, black metal legs
26 x 43 3/4 x 32 5/8 in
66 x 111 x 83 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Table basse à cinq pans, 1956
five sided beechwood table with three cylindrical feet, tinted black
15 3/8 x 102 3/8 x 41 in
39 x 260 x 104 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Bibliothèque Nuage “MIFERMA,” c. 1958
ash shelves, with U-shaped steel dividers
28 x 142 x 13 in
71.1 x 360.7 x 33 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Table “Forme Libre”
designed 1956, produced c. 1958, édition Steph Simon, built by André Chetaille
asymetrical mahogany table on three ovoid wooden legs
28 3/4 x 89 3/4 x 41 3/4 in
73 x 228 x 106 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Armoire de toilette, Maison du Brésil, 1959
small laminate wardrobe
17 x 17 x 6 in
43 x 43 x 15 cm
Charlotte Perriand + Le Corbusier
Armoire de séparation, Chambre Maison du Brésil, 1959
oak, grey PVC doors, plastic drawers
59 1/2 x 70 1/2 x 25 5/8 in
151 x 179 x 65 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Lit Simple, Maison du Brésil, 1959
wood frame, fabric cushions
11 x 74 7/8 x 31 1/2 in
28 x 190 x 80 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Table, Chambre Maison du Brésil, 1959
black metal frame, grey formica top, four plastic drawers
27 5/8 x 33 7/8 x 33 7/8 in
70 x 86 x 86 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Armoire, Maison Borot, 1959
wooden wardrobe in two sections, blue painted interior, and four sliding wooden doors
97 1/4 x 92 1/8 x 20 7/8 in
247 x 234 x 53 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Bahut suspendu, Maison Borot, 1959
wooden structure with black lacquered top, red interior, and three doors
37 1/2 x 120 1/8 x 21 1/4 in
95 x 305 x 53.7 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Meuble de rangement, Maison Borot, 1959
wooden wardrobe with white lacquered doors, and olivewood handle
85 1/2 x 63 7/8 x 27 5/8 in
217 x 162 x 70 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Passe-Plats, Maison Borot, 1959
serving hatch: curved mahogany counter, bamboo, two wooden doors
100 x 132 5/8 x 33 7/8 in (counter: 82 5/8 in long)
254 x 337 x 86 cm (counter: 210 cm long)
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Très rare panneau mural, Maison Borot, 1959
wood, fiberglass
105 x 32 3/4 x 3 1/2 in
266.7 x 83.2 x 8.9 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Banquette Tokyo
designed 1955, produced c. 1960, edition Steph Simon
slatted wood bench on three ovoid legs (with original cushions, upholstery by Simone Prouvé)
10 1/4 x 89 x 30 in
26 x 226 x 73 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Chaise paillée
designed 1939, produced c. 1960, edition Steph Simon
wood, rush
30 x 16 5/8 x 16 3/8 in
76 x 42 x 41 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Table de salle à manger à gorges, c. 1960
édition Steph Simon
rectangular ash table with grooved top, resting on four ovoid legs
28 3/8 x 78 1/2 x 33 1/2 in
71.5 x 200 x 85 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Console, Maison Borot, 1962
mahogany console supported by three legs, with 14 plastic storage bins
27 x 212 x 17 in
70 x 537 x 43 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Banquette Ambassade du Japon, 1966
polished steel structure with wooden slat seat and backrest, with original cushions upholstered with fabric by Simone Prouvé
56 3/8 x 31 1/2 x 28 3/4 in
143 x 80 x 73 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Protoypes Lumières “CP1”
designed 1963, produced c. 1965
pivoting sheet metal lamp
each: 5 x 6 3/8 in
each: 12.5 x 16 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Bibliothèque et Console, Maison Borot, 1966
oregon pine, metal
bibliothèque: 83 7/8 x 114 9/16 x 9 5/8 in (213 x 291 x 24.5 cm)
console: 27 1/4 x 106 1/8 x 17in (69 x 269.5 x 43 cm)
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Bibliothèque et Console, Maison Borot, 1966
oregon pine, metal
bibliothèque: 83 7/8 x 114 9/16 x 9 5/8 in (213 x 291 x 24.5 cm)
console: 27 1/4 x 106 1/8 x 17in (69 x 269.5 x 43 cm)
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Console, Maison Borot, 1966
wood, metal
27 1/4 x 106 1/8 x 17 in
69 x 269.5 x 43 cm
unique
Charlotte Perriand
Armoire à pharmacie, c. 1968
red enamel metal vanity on pivoting arm
28 5/8 x 21 5/8 x 4 in
72.5 x 55 x 10 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Console murale, c. 1968
asymmetrical pinewood wall console
60 5/8 x 9 1/4 x 2 1/8 in
154.5 x 23.5 x 5.4 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Rampe Lumineuse, c. 1968
rail lamp: pine and metal
5 1/2 x 173 3/4 x 16 1/8 in
14 x 441 x 41 cm
Charlotte Perriand
Chaise Ombre
designed 1954, produced 1975
molded plywood in “shuiro” color
28 3/4 x 89 3/4 x 41 3/4 in
63 x 44 x 51.5 cm
special order from a limited edition of six
A bumper exhibition of Charlotte Perriand’s pioneering furniture designs has gone display at New York’s Venus Over Manhattan gallery.
Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) was a pioneer in using tubular steel to create mass-market furniture, helping shape the modernist movement.
Curated in collaboration with Laffanour Galerie Downtown in Paris, a new exhibition at the Venus Over Manhattan art gallery in New York shines a spotlight on the late French designer Charlotte Perriand's life and work.
Charlotte Perriand is one of the most famous designers of the twentieth-century. Her pioneering furniture and interiors helped shape the modernist movement.
One of the great joys of the New York gallery scene is that we often get museum-quality shows in commercial galleries. This is the case with the current Charlotte Perriand exhibit at the Venus Over Manhattan gallery on Madison Avenue.
When visiting the new exhibition Charlotte Perriand, organized by Laffanour / Galerie Downtown at Venus Over Manhattan, you cannot help but thinking of the memorable story of Charlotte Perriand (1903-99) at 24, when she walked into Le Corbusier’s atelier at 35 rue de Sèvres, asking him to hire her as a furniture designer, just to get his answer 'we don’t embroider cushions here.'
Charlotte Perriand was, without a doubt, one of the most important designers of the 20th century. Yet, in a demonstration of the gender gap so prevalent in the art and design world of the 20th century, she isn’t a household name like Le Corbusier or Walter Gropius.