At this year’s Design Miami, LAFFANOUR – Galerie Downtown / Paris will present an exceptional lineup of rare work by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Serge Mouille, and Jean Royère. The gallery’s display is reflective of its commitment to promoting architects’ furniture designs and its vision rooted in the rapprochement between different art forms and shared by artists and designers of the 1950s.

For the past twenty-five years, Galerie Downtown has organized thematic and monographic exhibits on architects and furniture designers, exploring and rehabilitating through its exhibits a domain that had been forgotten, Architects of the 20th Century. Above and beyond his unequalled expertise in this field, François Laffanour is highly valued for his research into the thinking and techniques that strengthen socially functional design. Laffanour’s passion for architect-designed furniture is symptomatic of a wider commitment to the idea of the ‘synthèse des arts’ - that of bringing different art forms together into a harmonious and functional whole.

Highlights of work on view at Design Miami/ include:

• Trapezoid table, Jean Prouve, 1954: The Trapezoid table design was first seen in 1951 when it was produced as a study for the illuminating tables destined for the House of Medical Students in Paris (Architects: Lagneau-Weill). A rectangular table made of folded sheet steel with trapezoidal-shaped legs, this model was produced specifically for architectural agencies, as well as being a special commission for Antony University.

• ‘Signal’ wall light model, Serge Mouille, 1960: ‘Signal’ Luminaires appeared in the early 60s like the ‘Totem’ at the same time. They are produced in two standard sizes but some models of different sizes or composition, which are unique, are usually custom made, or, ordered at the prototype stage. There are no known editions of this model in the form of a lamp. This model comes from the personal Serge Mouille collection.

• Ours polaire armchairs, 1947, Jean Royère: Ours polaire armchairs are curved- shaped with a banana shaped backrest. They are covered in wool upholstery and rest on cylindrical legs. Royère pioneered this original style of combining bright colors, organic forms and precious materials within a wide range of imaginative accomplishments.

• Bibliothèque Bookcase, 1957, Charlotte Perriand: This is one of the most emblematic pieces of work by Charlotte Perriand and a key symbolizing piece of 1950’s France. Made around 1957 for the apartment of Mr. Dommergues, this bookcase is part of the custom-made furniture by Perriand for clients of the Steph Simon Gallery. The origin of this model comes from the traditional bookcase discovered by Charlotte Perriand during the imperial Katsura visit (XVII), near Kyoto in 1941.

About Laffanour – Galerie Downtown / Paris

Laffanour - Galerie Downtown / Paris exhibits architects’ furniture designs, which are now recognized as collectors’ items. For the gallery, this furniture is the product of a debate on the nature of modernity: the attempt to find a balancebetween the technical and that which is driven by questions of lifestyle - the end goal being to promote something that will be of use to society as a whole. The designs in question stand out for their intellectual rigor, commitment to social change and enthusiasm - we might even say radicalism - possessed as they were of sufficient vision and courage to strike out on new paths. The place of these items of furniture in the history of 20th century art must be seen through the spectrum of this period’s many social upheavals.

An uncompromising approach to aesthetics is very much the hallmark of Laffanour – Galerie Downtown / Paris, as is vividly illustrated by its spectacular displays in art fairs, its painstaking restoration work and its gallery exhibitions. Exhibitions at the rue de Seine gallery never fail to offer an opportunity to discover the original and the remarkable - testament to the unequalled expertise of Laffanour – Galerie Downtown / Paris. Laffanour – Galerie Downtown / Paris
is the major exhibitor of Charlotte Perriand’s work, but it has also helped bring Jean Prouvé’s designs to a wider audience. The gallery also features work by designers from the immediate post-1950s period right up to the present-day who are interested in similar creative challenges, such as Ettore Sottsass, Ron Arad and Gaetano Pesce.