Design Miami Basel 2011 could in many respects be seen as a small Jean Prouvé retrospective.
In addition to an overly proportional representation of his works in the main exhibition hall in Basel; Vitra used the opportunity to unveil the Prouvé RAW collection.
Over the course of two years, Vitra, the Jean Prouvé estate and G-STAR collaborated on developing contemporary versions of some of Jean Prouve’s most famous works.
Which is the sort of project that always fills us with more than a little trepidation.
Many of those designers who created the works that we today consider design classics were primarily motivated by social rather than financial reasons.
Jean Prouvé is a particularly good example. As a designer he spent a lot of his time, for example, investigating social housing issues and developing worker participation models for his factories. However, then as now, designers have to pay rent and eat, and so Jean Prouvé also worked on and developed numerous commercial projects.
But always remained true to his belief in simple forms, good handwork and sheet steel.
Compare the form language and materials of his 1934 Standard Chair, for example, with his Petrol Station from 1953 that currently stands on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, and you’ll see what we mean.
And so for us the main relief is thatProuvé RAW isn’t a Prouvé collection covered in denim. G-Star thankfully remaining happy with the increased keyword density that comes from lots of articles about Jean Prouvé.
Google only being able to identify letters, not pronunciations. Currently at least.
The Prouvé RAW collection is however 15 delightful new interpretations of nine Jean Prouvé classics including the chairs Cite and Standard and the shelving system Mural. New interpretations that remain true to Prouvé’s originals, updated in terms of colours, finishes and materials.
Yes the collection has a slight dark blue bias. But if you weren’t actively looking for it you probably wouldn’t find it.
All those who didn’t get the chance to view the collection at Qubique, now have the chance at bulthaup minimum, Torstraße 140, 10119 Berlin.
Or online at minimum.de
