Pair of G10 armchairs by Pierre Guariche for Airborne, 1955
Description
What I like
I really like this pair of G10 armchairs by Pierre Guariche, which are icons of the 1950s/1960s.
The very geometric shapes of their backs and low seats, and above all the characteristic inclination of the two blocks forming the armrests, drawing an elegant trapezium, combined with their minimalist metal base make them supremely elegant. The Free-span seat system developed by Airborne in metal plates and springs ensures great comfort, relayed by the foam of the backrest and seat.
To bring out the very taut lines of their design, a wool cloth was chosen, which follows the edges of these very clean volumes as closely as possible. The peacock blue gives them a playful, very modern side.
I really like the fact that these armchairs were designed by Pierre Guariche, one of the great French designers of the 1950s/1960s, and were produced by Airborne, which, having made big profits with the AA armchairs, can develop collaborations with the tallest: Guariche, Olivier Mourgue, René Jean Caillette etc. Their use of the Free-span seat system introduces comfort and great purity of line, thanks to the thinness of the seat that this allows.
Technical description
Pierre Guariche (1926-1995) designer-Airborne editor
Pair of G10 armchairs, the model created in 1955.
They are composed of a tubular base in black lacquered metal, supporting four oblique legs connected at the front and at the back by a spacer and finished with black plastic glides, a seat, a backrest, both rectangular, and two trapezoidal armrests in foam covered with a peacock blue wool fabric from Casamance. Very comfortable armchairs thanks to the Free-span spring and slat system which supports the seat and allows it to be very thin. Completely restored and reupholstered according to the original model, new foams and fabric.
Editor label trace on one.
Bibliography: L. Blaisse, A. Jacob, A. Jeauneau, Pierre Guariche, Norma editions, model reproduced p. 100
Dimensions and weight
Height: 77 cm – Width: 75 cm – Depth: 79 cm
Seat height: 45 cm
Weight: 18,5 kg each armchair
Mix & Match
These G10 armchairs have a great purity of line, as well as a great lightness. As a result, they lend themselves quite well to many cohabitations!
Contemporary with the tablet floor lamp by Mado Jolain and René Legrand, the gray and orange of the tablet playing with the peacock blue of the G10, they can also interact with the coffee table by Julien de Covemaeker with its bronze ceramic top.
I imagine them awakening with their cheerful color the important sculpture by Guillaume Leunnens “Colonnes”, dated 1966, whose surface worked in matte metal also stretches straight lines in space.
To stay in a blue atmosphere, the Cubico chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari can illuminate the room where they will be placed. There is the same search for simplicity but also for refinement of line and details.
On the walls, we have a choice: everything goes very well with our G10 armchairs!
Obviously, as a first choice, I will hang the Composition of Edgard Pillet, which dates from the years 1950/1951 and has the same requirement of extreme rigor of the lines without however neglecting the beauty of the chromatic range.
Each of the two tapestries by Daniel de Linière Vent d’été and Nuit d’Espagne will play its game differently with these armchairs by Pierre Guariche: Vent d’été is completely contemporary, and its decoration cut out on this beige background will work perfectly next to the G10s. The large flat areas of Nuit d’Espagne will match the colorful mass of our pair of armchairs!
Interestingly, you will find other armchairs, both French and American: Charles & Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia… similarly design metal legs, which resonate with our Pierre Guariche armchairs.
In stock
Description
To know more
The designer
Born in 1926 in Paris, Pierre Guariche studied at the National School of Decorative Arts. After the Second World War, he joined forces with a group of young French designers looking for a modern alternative to traditional French decorative arts. Between 1953 and 1057, he collaborated with Joseph-André Motte and Michel Mortier under the acronym ARP (Atelier des Recherches Plastiques) and designed furniture in innovative materials and shapes. At the same time, he began to work for major design companies, such as Airborne, Meubles TV, Huchers-Minvielle, Disderot and Steiner. At the end of the 1950s, Pierre Guariche became the chief designer of the Belgian company Meurop, where he concentrated on the development of elegant and inexpensive furniture.
Pierre Guariche works as an architect, and designs private, commercial and public residences, including ski resorts. Its designs represent its commitment to simplicity, and exploiting the potential of industrial production without sacrificing quality.
The editor
Airborne
Launched in 1951 by Charles Bernard (1904-1994), Airborne’s first product was the AA Chair, designed in 1938 by the Spanish-Argentinian collective Grupo Austral, made up of Juan Kurchan, Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy and Antonio Bonet. Knoll produced Grupo Austral’s Butterfly Chair in the 1940s. After the war, André Bloc, a friend of Charles Bernard, informed him that Knoll no longer had the rights to produce these designs. Charles Bernard acquires the rights and renames the new Airborne headquarters with the initials of André Bloc’s magazine called L’architecture d’Aujourd’hui. The AA Chair is a best-seller, the profits of which have enabled Airborne to collaborate with the greatest French designers, but also to compete with the greatest French manufacturers.
Not content with reproducing patented designs, Charles Bernard also wanted to create original pieces in collaboration with the talents of the time. Airborne’s first collaboration was with French designer Pierre Guariche, which would lead to the Prefacto collection (1951-1953), a suite of tubular steel and wood furniture. Pierre Guariche also designs a famous collection of armchairs and sofas for Airborne, including the G10 armchairs. Artists who collaborated with Airborne in the mid-20th century include René-Jean Caillette, Jacqueline Lecoq, Joseph-André Motte and Antoine Philippon.
Airborne’s most innovative collaboration was with Olivier Mourgue, with the Joker Easy Chair in black leather (1959), which Charles Bernard immediately agreed to produce. It was the start of a fruitful relationship that would last more than 10 years and greatly contribute to Airborne’s reputation in France and internationally. The Djinn Chair (1965) and its futuristic Space Age style from the 1960s now has its place in design history: together with the sofa from the same line, they even appeared in 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick, released in 1967. Today, they are no longer in production and have become real collector’s items.
Unfortunately, the success of the Djinn Chair was only retroactive, because despite the positive reviews, Airborne struggled to sell this model to sellers and consumers of the time, who did not like the avant-garde very much. In 1962, Airborne invested in their network of sellers and decided to split the company into two in order to reach more different markets: Airborne Résidence for the domestic market and Airborne Collectivité for commercial objects.
It was Airborne who pioneered the technique of covering injected rubber foam with a synthetic jersey fabric. It is thanks to provocative advertisements that Airborne is known all over the world. Produced by Hautefille, the “Everything is there” ad shocks the whole world because you can see 50 round buttocks, a metaphor for the foldability and comfort of Airborne seats.
A beautiful authentic pair of armchairs at a fair price
Our pair of G10 armchairs by Pierre Guariche for Airborne have been carefully selected for their aesthetic qualities, their originality and their fair price. Our choice favors above all the acuity of the design, of which the signature of Pierre Guariche is the guarantor, guarantee of a valorization of your new acquisition in your interior and of an ability to dialogue with your furniture, to agree and to mix to create a unique decoration.
Manufacturing by Airborne is a guarantee of quality, and the patented Free-Span seat system remains unrivaled in comfort.
Buying vintage furniture is surely a reasonable investment, so great is the appetite for the 1950s/1960s.
Finally, buying vintage furniture preserves the resources of planet earth.
Additional information
| Weight | 18,5 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 79 × 75 × 77 cm |
| Créateur | |
| Editeur | |
| Epoque |
