Patrick Jouin: Design and Gesture

Patrick Jouin: Design and Gesture was the first solo exhibition at an American museum of the prolific 42-year-old French designer’s work. A protégé of Philippe Starck, Jouin established his own studio in 1999. Since then, the Paris-based designer’s career ascent has been meteoric, with projects spanning quite literally from the spoon—Zermatt flatware for Puiforcat—to the city—street furniture for Paris, including a self-cleaning lavatory. His technical wizardry has made him a master of material transformation, as perhaps best exemplified by his revolutionary 2005 Solid polyurethane and resin chair series, produced through stereolithography (3-D rapid prototyping). Patrick Jouin: Design and Gesture featured a multimedia installation, conceived and produced by Jouin, that explored the nature of gesture as a dish moves from food prep to service. Also on view were twenty-two of his landmark home designs, ranging from his Zermatt flatware to his C1 Solid chair. Celebrated for his show-stopping chandeliers, Jouin, in collaboration with the Italian lighting company Leucos, created a dramatic one-off light feature for MAD’s Lobby.

The exhibition was curated by Ronald T. Labaco and Patrick Jouin.