POWDER COATED PANEL

A powder coated steel facade panel by Jean Prouvé, salvaged from one of the prefabricated architectural projects produced through his Ateliers or the Compagnie Industrielle de Matériel de Transport (CIMT). Prouvé trained as an artisan blacksmith and his intimate knowledge of metal remained the foundation of his work — moving from wrought iron to folded and welded sheet steel, he developed and patented industrial products for the construction of buildings, including facade panels produced for schools, housing projects, and public buildings across France. Demonstrating the intricate relationship between architecture and furniture, the facade panels elegantly blend into contemporary interiors and acquire an almost sculptural quality. In deep matte black the panel reads as a work of minimalist abstraction — light moving across its surface the way Prouvé always intended: as a material event, not a decorative one.

JEAN PROUVE
FRANCE, MID-CENTURY
68” x 43”