Pierre Paulin

With over a hundred items of furniture, drawings, models and archives, the Centre Pompidou presents a retrospective covering the entire  50 years of the French designer’s career.

Curated by Cloé Pitiot, the Centre Pompidou is presenting the first major retrospective devoted to the work of Pierre Paulin, a designer who left his mark on the second half of the 20th century, contributing to a new lifestyle.

Pierre Paulin, Fautail du salon de Tableaux, 1971 — **Top:** Pierre Paulin, Banquette Dos à dos, 1967 **Above:** Fautail du salon de Tableaux, palais de l'Elysée, 1971–1972. Photo Isabelle Bideau

Pierre Paulin’s environments, furniture and industrial objects might be simple or spectacular, but were always conceived to serve the body, providing both comfort and cosiness. They also reflected his fascination with technical innovations, like the development of stretch textiles and injection moulding plastic.

Pierre Paulin, Siège 577 dit Tongue, 1967

This retrospective exhibits key pieces by Paulin that have never or rarely been shown to the public, including the Coupe aux Nénuphars, the Araignée ceiling light and the Bonheur du Jour desk, together with other now iconic items, like the Tripode Cage, the Mushroom and the Tongue.  The retrospective also focuses on projects that were never edited or which he produced himself.