Pierre Paulin

Galerie kreo, Paris

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Private collection, France

Mobilier national 1964-2004, 40 ans de création, exhibition catalogue, Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris, 20 October 2004 - 16 January 2005, p. 44

Pierre Paulin designer, exhibition catalogue, Grand-Hornu, Belgique, 9 March -22 June 2008, p. 204 and p. 205 for a sketch

Nadine Descendre, Pierre Paulin, l'homme et l'oeuvre, Paris, 2014, p. 49

Paulin, exhibition catalogue, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 11 May - 22 August 2016, p. 59

Circa 1966-1967, Pierre Paulin was asked to collaborate with the Atelier de Recherche et de Création du Mobilier National (National Furniture Research and Creation Workshop) to create seating models for public spaces.

It was within the framework of this commission that the Face-à-Face and Dos-à-Dos models were born. 

With their supple forms, these seats embodied a new way of sitting and living in the mid-1960s, one that was freer and more relaxed, far removed from the social conventions of the time. By combining a tubular metal frame, foam padding, and jersey upholstery, Pierre Paulin succeeded in creating fluid, organic lines that invite relaxation and redefine the relationship between the body and furniture.

The Face-à-face and Dos-à-dos are two rare examples of Pierre Paulin's innovative thinking and his collaboration with ARC.

A same model is in the collections of the Mobilier National (inv. GMC-51-002)