Philippe Jousse, whose contemporary art gallery in Paris represents artists such as Superflex, Ariane Michel, and Richard Kern, got his start in the 1980s dealing ’50s furniture at a flea market on the outskirts of Paris. In the decades that followed, he built a successful business unearthing iconic pieces by the likes of Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier, and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, Mathieu Matégot, and Serge Mouille. He established Jousse Entreprise in 2001 in the prominent arts district on rue Louise Weiss; the gallery was split into two neighboring halves covering art and design. In 2005, Jousse moved the design outpost to the well-heeled rue de Seine in Saint-Germain, and the contemporary art gallery followed suit, relocating to the Marais in 2009.
Today, Jousse’s design gallery is busy staging vintage and contemporary exhibitions, including outings by Rick Owens and Joep van Lieshout, whom Jousse met in the early ’90s at L’Hôpital éphémère, a famed artist-populated squat. Jousse’s own space is filled with unique pieces: A neon-blue set of chairs, tangerine bookshelves, an emerald green sink, and a mouse-gray desk, all by Van Lieshout, fill the front room of the gallery. The dealer can usually be found there, cigarette in hand, surrounded by his team, including his wife, Patricia, and son, Mathias, who heads the 1970s furniture department. “I understand the desire for a designer to connect to art, but at the same time, design in the greater sense does not benefit from becoming a work of art,” says Jousse of the fine line he treads with his dual gallery spaces. “To me, design pieces are more akin to functional sculptures.”
Jousse says he has the most personal affinity for the work of Prouvé and for Matégot, a “couturier of metal” who, interestingly, did not share his contemporaries’ ambition for industrial production. Matégot’s output from the ’50s and ’60s consists of functional furniture made with perforated metal but resembling featherweight tulle. The rue de Seine gallery will host a solo show by Matégot this month, showcasing his signature Satellite ceiling lamps as well as works that have never been seen in Paris, including a rare bar and counter from a private hotel commission.
To see works from Philippe Jousse's gallery, click the slide show.
This article by Johanna Frydman first appeared in the June issue of Modern Painters magazine.