A Passion for Jean Prouve: From Furniture to Architecture

With this exhibition, the Pinacoteca Agnelli ofters the public a collection of wholly unique French design and architecture that has never gone on show before.

During the course of their lives, Patrick and Laurence Seguin have collected the chairs, lamps, furniture, documents and architecture created by an architectural innovator: Jean Prouvé. Thanks to his nomadic homes, built using poor and easily found materials, such as aluminum, he was a pioneer and brilliant inventor. For Prouvé, there was no difference between a piece of furniture and a house: both had to be functional and made from hardwearing materials, and include ingenious mechanisms. Patrick and Laurence were very soon fascinated by Prouvé and began collecting his works in the 1980s, when few people as yet appreciated his work. Their light-filled, welcoming Paris home, reflects this passion for the designer who favored simple yet innovative and modern lines; it is wholly furnished with chairs, lamps and other items by the French architect. Certain expedients, such as replacing an original seat with a new one (while the original is kept in storage), make it possible to enjoy these pieces on a daily basis, without affecting their perfect condition.