“Few curators can lay claim to transforming the market view of a designer’s entire body of work. With Galerie Patrick Seguin, the French dealer has taken Jean Prouvé in to the mainstream and also brought lesser-known works by Charlotte Perriand, Jean Royère, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret into the public eye.”

Niemeyer built Brasilia (1960),Le Corbusier’s and his cousin Jeanneret, Chandigarh (1966). When India became independent (1947), Nehru commissioned the latter to lay out Punjab’s capital. They designed everything, down to the furniture for public buildings. Architectural plans, photos, letters— Le Corbusier’s biggest project is fully revealed. Edifying.

The latter comes from the famous chandigarh project. In 1947 with India’s independence, Nehru decided to commission a contemporary architect for the creation of the new capital of the Punjab region, soon to become Chandigarh. Le Corbusier’s project was meant to illustrate the bright future of this new country. The project also included the creation of all the furniture of administrative buildings and housing. For this creation Le Corbusier chose his cousin and lifelong collaborator, Pierre Jeanneret. Both of the architects-designers’ styles remained eminently modern yet respectful of Indian savoir-faire and craftsmanship.

Established in 1989 in a 300sqm space designed by the architect Jean Nouvel, the gallery showcases the talent of French designers of the XXth century such as Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier and Jean Royère. Today, their creations are recognized as major contributions to the history of design. Along with a program of exhibitions devoted to architecture and furniture by these designers, the Galerie Patrick Seguin also invites, every year during the FIAC, international contemporary art galleries to exhibit in its space.

Jean Prouvé’s enduring interest in methods of storage was expressed in individual pieces of furniture – shelving, display windows, sideboards and closets – and interior fittings for both private and public commissions. 1954 saw the creation of a hanging «cabinet/bookcase» which combined the principle of the standard cabinet with that of the bookshelves developed shortly before.