Pascal Mourgue (1943 - 2014) French Designer and Artist

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Croisette Bench by Pascal Mourgue — Croisette bench by Pascal Mourgue

Pascal Mourgue (1943 – 2014) is a French designer and artist. He was professionally active in Paris and the brother of Olivier Mourgue. He considers himself more of an artist than a designer. He is noted for his modern yet timeless style. He designs products for the home and the office, illustrating his belief that utility and fine art need not be exclusive.

Education

He studied at the Ecole Boulle and Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, both in Paris.

Biography

He began in 1960 as an interior designer, executing furniture designs produced by Vinco, Mobilier International, and Knoll. From 1982, he made furniture, furnishings, and textiles designs for Scarabat, Sopamco, Artelano, and Fermob.

VIA funded some of his projects. He designed the 1985 Lune l’Argent chair and stool produced by Fermob, the 1988 Ikmisou sofa by Fermob, Motobécane mopeds, and, with Patrice Hardy, the Yob trimaran for Kental International. He designed the 1986 glass and metal three-legged café table and 1987 Atlantique furniture collection produced by Artelano, carpets for Toulemonde Bochart, a sofa for Guermonprez, and a desk for Mobilier International.

Cityloft armchair by Pascal Mourgue — City Loft armchair by Pascal Mourgue

His wife, Marie Mourgue, participated in the management of the studio business.

In 1988, he established the Galerie Differences near the Musée Picasso in Paris to show his fine art; he designed glass sculptures for the CIRVA, Marseilles.

Recognition

His Arc lounge armchair won the 1983 VIA/Bloomingdale’s first prize. He was named 1984 Designer of the Year in France and won the grand prize in the 1986 Critique du Meuble Contemporain. His Lune l’Argent chair won the competition for contemporary art sponsored by the Fondation Cartier. His work was shown at the 1988 French recent furniture exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the 1989 ‘L’Art de Vivre’ exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York; 1989 Salon du Meuble in Paris; and the 1990 ‘Les années VIA’ exhibition at the Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs. His work was the subject of a 1989 solo exhibition mounted by the Steelcase Design Partnership in New York.