The Galerie Pascal Cuisinier’s second year at Design Miami/ Basel will consist of a solo show dedicated to Joseph-André Motte – a heartfelt homage to the designer on the first anniversary of his death in June 2013.

Joseph-André Motte (1925 – 2013) was a French interior designer. His extensive body of work made use of the full range of innovative materials that were being developed by the manufacturing sector at that time. He was a trail-blazer in many different fields. His brilliant career was noteworthy for a number of prestigious projects, such as the interior design and furnishings of Orly and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airports, the complete overhaul of around one hundred metro stations, and, in the area of decorative arts, furniture designs commissioned by the Mobilier National (a state body in charge of supplying furniture to official state residences, embassies etc).

 

The galerie Pascal Cuisinier will be exhibiting around thirty Joseph-André Motte creations at Design Miami/ Basel, amongst which will be some of his most iconic and rare designs. These include the superb Evelyne sideboard, the rosewood Prestige desk created for Dassas, a pair of low tables with built-in lights crafted from rosewood and white opaline glass and the extremely scarce Catherine and Tripod rattan chairs. A wide selection of lights designed by Joseph-André Motte will be brought together for the very first time: Perspex model M4 floor lamps, model J14 lamps designed for Disderot made from marble, metal and opaline, not to mention the Perspex ‘Licorne’(unicorn) wall lamps which are probably on public display for the first time ever.

 

This collection of designs will be showcased in a display inspired by one of the most instantly-recognizable examples of the work of Joseph-André Motte, the ‘chambre aux oiseaux’ (the bird room), which he designed for the 1961 Salon des Arts Ménagers (similar to the Ideal Home Exhibition). The floor of the stand is constituted by a deep pile prairie green carpet and the walls are covered with a light-coloured wood-brown fabric. The display is illuminated using very soft indirect lighting installed in a drop ceiling.

Since 2006, the Galerie Pascal Cuisinier has strongly promoted the first generation of modern French designers. These individuals epitomized the ultra-modern character of 20th century design in their works. Their furniture, produced
between 1951 and 1961 with a view to being mass-produced, are characterized by an emphasis on functionality, technical innovation and elegance.

 

Pascal Cuisinier’s motto is ‘expect excellence’. This can be seen in the painstaking care he takes to select only the best works from this period, the catalogue raisonnés he has produced and the meticulously-crafted displays on show in the gallery and at the biggest art fairs around the world.

 

Located on the Rue de Seine, the Galerie Pascal Cuisinier is the gallery in which to find the works of the first modern French designers. Its founder has made a significant contribution to research into both the historical and aesthetic aspects of French furniture design between 1951 and 1961. He has helped shed light on the avant-garde spirit behind the designs of J. Abraham and D. Rol, R.J. Caillette, G. Dangles and C. Defrance, P. Guariche, A. Monpoix, M. Mortier, J.A. Motte, P. Paulin, A. Philippon, J. Lecoq and A. Richard, as well as on the work of key light fitting designers J. Biny, P. Disderot and R. Mathieu.