Have it delivered hassle-freeBuyer protectionAll Designer items curated by WhoppahDownload the Whoppah App – get alerts & sell with ease.
Olivier Mourgue, Fauteuils Montréal, Airborne Ed. 1967
€16,000Bid from €14,000
Buy with confidence
Shop & pay safely with our Buyer ProtectionDesigner items curated by WhoppahWe only pay the seller once you have safely received the itemTrusted payment methods
About this seller
Product description
Olivier Mourgue (1939-)
Pair of Montreal Armchairs
Mobilier National-Atelier de Recherche et Création, Airborne Éditeur, France, 1967
Fiberglass frame, foam, and, as pictured here, Mohair velvet from Maison Misia (but other fabrics, materials, and colors are available), chrome-plated metal glides
**References:**
ARC-Mobilier National Collection, inventory number GMT-22591-014
Commissioned by the Mobilier National for the French Pavilion at the 1967 World's Fair
Olivier Mourgue's collaboration with the Mobilier National began with the 1967 Montreal World's Fair, for which he created a set of chairs and tables to furnish the main hall of the French Pavilion. The contract (May 9, 1967) stipulated that the designer must provide a project including full-scale plans, a report on materials and upholstery, as well as a study of the overall decor of the living room. The prototypes studied and produced by ARC based on Mourgue's designs led to a first edition, commissioned from the Airborne company, of thirty armchairs, ten poufs, and six coffee tables bearing the "Mobilier National" label. The internal structure of the seats, made of molded polyester, forms a shell that is covered with foam and upholstered in a fully removable red jersey cover.
**Bibliography:**
- Meubles et Décors, No. 840, August-September 1968
- Airborne Trade Catalog, 1970
- Japan Interior Design, Special Issue, 1971
- Catalog "Mobilier National 1964-2004, 40 Years of Creation"
**Biography:**
Winner of the First International Design Award and the Grand Prix National de la Création Industrielle, Olivier Mourgue graduated from the École Boulle. He enrolled at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and, while still a student, designed the Joker seating range in 1959 for the manufacturer Airborne, with whom he collaborated for nearly 20 years.
In 1964, continuing in the same vein, he designed the Whist range in steel blades and black leather, of which we are offering here a rare silver leather chaise longue accompanied by its matching armchair and ottoman. The following year, he innovated by launching the Djinn line, which was a great success with the public. The models were even selected by Stanley Kubrick to furnish the space station in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and are now part of the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York.
The collaboration with the company provided him with unprecedented industrial support. He became the symbol of the Airborne brand. After developing the "Joker," "Whist," "Djinn," and "Montreal" series, he sought a creation that would allow him to apply his research into nomadism and living close to the ground. It was with this in mind that he designed the anthropomorphic "Bouloum" chaise longue in 1968, in two versions: one with a fiberglass exterior and the other with a fabric interior.
Close to Jean Coural, administrator of the Mobilier National (National Furniture Collection), he was commissioned by the institution's Research and Creation Workshop that same year to design, with the assistance of Pierre Paulin, the cafeteria of the Rennes cultural center. He created a "Cafeteria Unit" and the famous Caddie chair, which was produced in a small series by Erbos solely for this project, without being mass-produced.
Specifications
ConditionExcellentColorsBlueMaterialFiberglass, Metal, Chrome, Textile, VelvetNumber of items2Height65 cmWidth87 cmDepth63 cmSeat height38 cm
Discover more
Seller information
About this seller
Paris, FranceOn Whoppah since October 2024 • 0 sales