Jean Prouvé  

I would shoot a man for some ...
I would shoot a man for some original vintage Prouve. It's out of my league $$$ Under appreciated? I don't think so. People tend to ask questions about Eames, Saarinen et al because it's widely available and moderately affordable in comparison to other less mass produced designs of the same caliber.

I wouldn't say Prouve is...
I wouldn't say Prouve is unappreciated exactly - Prouve pieces are scarce enough in France let alone in the USA or even continental Europe. Enthusiasts on a site like this naturally tend to talk about vintage design they can realistically expect or aspire to own, to get their hands on. Hence you hear a lot about mainstream US and Scandinavian designers - everyone's very familiar with them. You could equally say that no one ever mentions Carlo Mollino - I'm sure many of us would love to own something by him but the chances of doing so are slight. Personally I like Prouve furniture (I do have a work stool by him) although I think its arguable that his significance is a little bit over hyped.

In terms of prices realized,...
In terms of prices realized, one would have to say that Prouve is currently among the most appreciated members of both the design community and the auction houses.

Was reading about Prouve rece...
Was reading about Prouve recently, they mentioned the fact that there has been a large number of retrospectives and exhibitions over the past 18 months or so which has lead to a big increase in awareness and popularity
The Maison tropicale was outside tate modern recently, I would have loved to go down had a look
have you guys ever read Tintin in Tibet? The Visiteur chair features in the hotel, it is a perfect drawing!

Also check out the vintage St...
Also check out the vintage Standard and EM table in this thread, the house isnt bad either 😉
http://www.lottaliving.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=12741

Prouve Fan
I am not sure I consider Prouve designs elegant, but I do like them greatly.
I do agree that the designs are strong and individual. I find them taught and masculine, personally.
Originals are way out of my budget, but I have seen some used Vitra productions available on Ebay the past year that I could have afforded. Space is an issue and I am unwilling to replace the pieces I currently enjoy.
If however I had purchased the Prouve items earlier I am reasonably sure that I would not trade them for the pieces I currently covet.
Perhaps, timing is everything?

if whitespike would shoot a...
if whitespike would shoot a man i don't know what I should do about those + the house they're in (/the car)...
There's a very nice film about him by arte, you can watch an exerpt online that shows his own residence which was built from spare office building facade-panels. He truly had a minimal understanding of dwelling.
http://www.arte.tv/fr/connaissance-decouverte/architectures-nancy/La-mai...

Thanks very much for your responses
whitespike, haha.
Everyone, yes I am aware of the appreciation in recent years of the prices of his vintage pieces, and the hype that has followed in its wake. That Maison that sold recently even made it to my local morning paper.
whitespike, that could have something to do with it, but I don't buy it as the only reason for JP's absence here. There are more affordable reissues by Vitra, and even one or two by that German company. The prices of these put his pieces within more people's reach than, say, Poul Kjaerholm, who is mentioned far more often here.
So it is considering all this interest in JP that I am surprised by the lack of discussions and posts. For a novice as myself, it would be very interesting to hear more informed opinions on his work.
paulanna, that is funny. I was just thinking of Carlo Mollino as another one of those names I see mentioned very rarely. You would have to have absolutely no imagination not to be intrigued by his designs. Is his furniture still being made, or reissued? What Prouvé stool is that btw?
pete1979, I have read it. I used to have all the books, except for one. I will probably buy the entire collection one day. This reminds me, there used to be a site about all the cars from the albums. Great stuff. We should start a Tintin interiors thread. Thanks also for the link. That houseis not too shabby btw.
bustelo, thanks for elaborating on the aesthetic qualities. Masculine, yes I agree. The elegance is there, too, but not in a conventional way perhaps. Your observation on timing is spot on. Our homes and lives are all randomly designed.

I would shoot all of you for...
I would shoot all of you for a Visiteur chair, or just about anything from this place:
http://www.patrickseguin.com/designers/jean_prouve/

Gustaf, is that your Prouve...
Gustaf, is that your Prouve table?
I love his stuff, as well as the designs by Perriand that were executed at his studio. Still, I feel that these pieces are so heavy and dominant, that I would need to change everything else in my home to go with it... There's some dutch stuff that would mix well with it, such as the Pilastro and Tomado shelving units (much like our Swedish 'String' systems, but in all metal) and designers such as Friso Kramer, Wim Rietveld etc...

I've been to that gallery in...
I've been to that gallery in Paris. Absolutely amazing stuff. I asked for the price of a 'Standard' chair just for fun and because I know it was 'mass' produced (at least for Prouve's standards...). It was 4000 euro's...
Still, nice just to see the place. They even had some huge Prouve metal doors (with the little round windows) installed.
I've heard that the dealers have been going to the old colonies of France in Africa and acquired whatever was left from the 'good old days'. They had Prouvé furniture in the schools you know... Kind of cynical if you ask me. 'Not that it's the antique dealers fault that France used to have colonies all around the world, but still....

alexandersforum, I would...
alexandersforum, I would kill some more for a Perriand shelf.
I do not agree on the heavy and dominant, well, perhaps dominant for some of the larger pieces, but I do think you have a point in that JP doesn't easily mix with the more ubiquitous MCM names. Kramer and Rietveld are indeed great matches, as is Eileen gray and some of the Bauhaus folks.
The Tomado looks remarkably like the String system. The former is all metal in multicolored, but very similar. If I am not mistaken, String came out a couple of years before. And there is a Wim Rietveld table that is mysteriously similar to the Compass. Interesting.

alexandersforum, I envy you!...
alexandersforum, I envy you!
You are right, it is somewhat controversial. The debate following the extraction of one of the African Maisons (the one that was sold in NY recently) was interesting. If left alone, the house would probably have withered away somewhere in the rain forest. And the school chairs would eventually have been worn out and tossed away, had they not been "rescued" by the dealers. On the other hand, those places have now lost some of their heritage, and probably at bargain basement prices (I don't know if the collectors and dealers paid a fair price but I doubt it). Reminds me of the colonial times. Still, I am not sure where I stand. Complex issue.
Edit: It used to be mine. I had it returned and now have the Compass instead. It is smaller and a better size for the room than the EM. The Compass also works better as a desk, which is how I use it. I really miss the EM, but would need a larger apartment to fit it.

The slightly 'lighter'...
The slightly 'lighter' compass table is a much better match with the eames chair I think...
I saw some amazing Perriand shelves in Paris. There's another gallery that also had some great pieces, -can't remember the name now. They also had a huge room divider/shelving unit by Prouve, that was suspended in the air, hanging on yellow metal poles that extended from the floor to the ceiling. (Well, not really hanging. It was like two of those Stiffel tension pole lights, with shelves instead of lamps...)
I have the Tomado shelves. As you know, 'String' is everywhere in Sweden and while I like it, I thought Tomado was a nice alternative. I'm not sure who was first actually, maybe we think it was Strinning just because we're Swedish?