Pierre Charpin's purist 'Ignotus Nomen' collection takes a philosophical bent
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iXg9nhPr7tFgR82X4UzqnU-415-80.jpg)
Pierre Charpin is currently on a tear through French Europe. Since being named Designer of the Year at the Paris Furniture Fair in 2005, he has exhibited at the city's Museum of Decorative Arts, the Grand-Hornu in Belgium and the Mudac in Lausanne. In May he returned to the Grand-Hornu for a 20-year retrospective of his vibrantly coloured furnishings for Ligne Roset and Alessi, among others. And this month he launches Ignotus Nomen at Galerie Kreo, the St-Germain-des-Prés gallery that has backed him since 2005.
Yet this exhibit represents a sea change from the wildly vibrant statement pieces that made Charpin famous beyond the designerati who populate Design Miami and Basel. As he approaches 50, Charpin's work has taken on a more philosophical bent. The name of the new, limited-edition collection says it all: 'Ignotus Nomen', or the thing that remains unnamed. The statement is there, it's just up to you to define it.
Brilliant-white furnishings made from Krion, a type of Corian, are, at their core, straightforward. Until you factor in the anonymous black-resin figures that appear on the surface, shadowy forms to the pieces' austere functionality. Is that a vase propped up on the desk? A spinning top prone on the coffee table? A beaker poking through the bookshelf? The answers: no, no and no. Charpin himself describes them as 'receptors and not signifiers', enigmatic forms washed up on the shore. Indeed, like creatures from the sea they seem to rely on their host the longer you contemplate them.
But that's as far as he goes, daring you, the viewer, to take their meaning a step further. Otherwise they are simply statuary. And, frankly, that may be meaningful enough for some.
'Ignotus Nomen' bookshelf
'Ignotus Nomen' coffee table
'Ignotus Nomen' vase
'Ignotus Nomen' bench
'Ignotus Nomen' desk
'Ignotus Nomen' console
ADDRESS
Galerie Kreo
31, rue Dauphine
75006 Paris
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
17 designers and artists reinterpret Dior's ‘Medallion’ chair
The Dior ‘Medallion’ chair project marks the French maison's most significant presence at Milan’s Salone del Mobile to date
By Nick Vinson - Art Direction Last updated
-
Virtually experience the shapes and colours of Pierre Charpin
Take a digital 3D tour of Pierre Charpin’s show ‘Similitude(s)’ at Paris’ Galerie Kreo that explores colour and geometry
By Ali Morris Last updated
-
Maison et Objet 2017: confetti & antique surfaces prevail at the Paris fair
By Emma Moore Last updated
-
Future stars: up-and-coming designers rule the roost at Maison et Objet 2016
By Christopher Stocks Last updated
-
Not clowning around: Galerie Kreo hosts Pierre Charpin’s ’Marbles and Clowns’
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Designer Pierre Charpin commandeers L'Appartement 50 in Marseille's Cité Radieuse
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Prints by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec and Pierre Charpin for The Wrong Shop
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
House proud: a colourful retrospective celebrates 20 years of Pierre Charpin's designs
By Léa Teuscher Last updated