Charlotte Perriand
Charlotte Perriand (1903 - 1999) was born in Paris and studied at the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs School of Decorative Arts from 1921 to 1925. But traditional decorative arts were not for her - after her studies, Charlotte Perriand quickly began to design her own furniture.
In 1927, Charlotte Perriand applied for a job at the studio of Le Corbusier, who initially did not take the 24-year-old seriously. However, her "Bar under the roof", constructed entirely from anodised aluminium and nickel-plated copper, which attracted a great deal of attention at the Salon d'Automne exhibition that same year, convinced the master of her abilities. Over the next ten years, Charlotte Perriand was involved in all interior design and furniture projects at the Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier studios.
From 1937, Charlotte Perriand worked in her own studio, often in collaboration with Jeanneret and Jean Prouvé. In 1940, she travelled to Japan to advise the Japanese Ministry of Industry. Her further stay in Indochina lasted until 1946 and awakened in Charlotte Perriand a deep admiration for Asian culture, which soon found its way into her designs.
Today, Charlotte Perriand 's furniture is a valuable collector's item. As her objects were often only produced in small series for specific architectural projects, a separate market has developed for Charlotte Perriand's furniture. A table by Charlotte Perriand can easily fetch sums in the five-figure range at auction. A Plot bookcase sold for around 286,000 euros in 2012.
The Italian manufacturer Cassina, where she oversaw the re-edition of Le Corbusier furniture at the end of the 1970s, has reissued a number of Charlotte Perriand's designs in recent years. These include, for example, the Tokyo outdoor lounger, which Charlotte Perriand designed in 1940. This design classic impresses with a reclining surface that is perfectly adapted to the shape of the body. Charlotte Perriand was inspired by Japanese furniture to create this simple, expressive design language.
