Softshell Chair

Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec were born in Quimper, respectively in 1971 and 1976. As soon as he graduated from the « Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs », Ronan began working alone, progressively assisted by Erwan, who was then still a student at the « Ecole des Beaux-Arts » of Cergy Pontoise. The two brothers have been working together since 1999. Their collaboration is a constant dialogue, one that is fed by their separate identities but strives toward a common goal. They met Giulio Cappellini in 1997, when their “Disintegrated Kitchen” was on show at the Salon du Meuble in Paris. This was to be the starting point of a regular collaboration that has resulted in various projects since 1999. In 2000, Issey Miyake commissioned them to design a shop in Paris for to his new collection A-Poc. The very same year, they met Rolf Felhbaum, Chairman of Vitra, and began working on a new Office Furniture System called “Joyn” which was produced in 2002. This project opened the way for further collaboration. Today, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec work together with numerous manufacturers such as Vitra, Cappellini, Issey Miyake, Magis, Ligne Roset, Habitat and the Kréo Gallery. In addition, they work on architectural projects, like the « Floating House », an artist’s Studio , commissioned by “Le centre d’Art de Chatou”. The brothers were named “Creator of the Year” at the Salon du Meuble in Paris, 2002, and have won multiple awards like the “New Designer Awards” of the International Furniture Fair of New-York in 1999, le Grand Prix du Design de la Ville de Paris in 1998 and the First Prize of Saint-Etienne Biennale in 1998. In 2003, they were voted “designer of the year” by Elle Decoration, Japan. Their designs have been exhibited in many collective or solo exhibitions such as “Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec” at the London Design Museum in 2002. In 2004, 2 solo exhibitions were held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and at the Boijmans Museum of Art in Rotterdam. In summer 2005, they took part in a collective exhibition at the Seoul Art Center, Hangaram Design Museum in Korea. Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s designs are part of the permanent museum collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art, the “Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou” in Paris, the London Design Museum, the Lisbon Design Museum and the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum of Rotterdam. After the first publication dedicated to their work « Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec - Catalogue de raison » Editions Images Modernes/Kréo, 2002, they designed their own book: « Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec », published by Phaidon in 2003. Both brothers regularly take part in workshops at various Schools of Art and Design.

Ronan (born 1971) and Erwan Bouroullec (born 1976) are brothers and designers based in Paris. They have been working together for about fifteen years bonded by diligence and challenged by their distinct personalities. Their studio is based in Paris and their team numbers around six people. In 1997, they were spotted by Cappellini, giving them their first industrial design projects. They began working with the Galerie kreo in 2000 and had their first solo show there in 2001. Issey Miyake then hired them to design the boutique to house his new collection « A-Poc ». They met then Rolf Felhbaum, President of Vitra, and worked on a new office system entitled « Joyn». Since then, they have gone on to work with Artek, Alessi, Axor Hansgrohe, Cappellini, Established & Sons, Flos, Hay, Kettal, Kvadrat, Kartell, Glas Italia, Ligne Roset, Magis, Iittala, Mattiazzi, Mutina, Nani Marquina, Samsung and Vitra. Their work has covered many field ranging from the design of small objects as jewellery to spatial arrangements and architecture, from craftsmanship to industrial scale, from drawings to videos and photography. The designers also maintain an experimental activity with Gallery kreo, which is also essential to the development of their work. Designs of the Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are part of select international museums’ permanent collections such as the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Design Museum in London, and the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Several monographic exhibitions have been devoted to their work: «Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec» at the Design Museum, London (2002) and «Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec» at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2004), «Album» at the Vitra Design Museum (2012) and «Bivouac» at the Centre Pompidou Metz (2011) and then at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (2012-2013). In 2013, the Arts Décoratifs, Paris presented «Momentané» and more recently they presented “17 Screens” at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2015). In 2016, the city of Rennes showed their latest researches in 4 exhibitions in three different places (Frac Bretagne, Les Champs Libres and the Parliament of Bretagne). A comprehensive monograph was released in 2012, Works, Phaidon Press. In 2013, under the art direction of Cornel Windlin, JRP Ringier published a 864-page paperback book called Drawing that collects more than 850 drawings that Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec made between 2005 and 2012. In the past, two monographs have been published : Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec published by Phaidon Press (2003) and Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec – Catalogue de Raison (Paris: Images Modernes / kreo, 2002). Dates Ronan Bouroullec (born 1971 in Quimper, Brittany) and Erwan Bouroullec (born 1976 in Quimper, Brittany) began working together in 1998 after completing their studies at École supérieure des Arts décoratifs in Paris and École nationale supérieure des Arts in Cergy. Their studio is based in Paris. Selected Exhibitions Made in France, group exhibition, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1997 Vases combinatoires, Galerie Neotù, Paris, 1997 Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Galerie kreo, Paris, 2001 Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Design Museum, London, 2002 Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2004 Parois, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie, Roubaix, 2004 Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 2004 Airs de Paris, group show, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2007 étapes, Villa Noailles, Hyères; MAC’s, Grand-Hornu; l’elac, Lausanne, 2008–2009 Lianes, Roches & Conques, Galerie kreo, Paris, 2010 Album, Arc en Rêve–Centre d’architecture, Bordeaux, 2011; Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, 2012 Bivouac, Centre Pompidou-Metz, 2011; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2012 Momentané, Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris (April 26 – September 1, 2013) Lustre Gabriel, Château de Versailles, 2013 Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. 17 screens, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, 2015 Rennes exhibitions, Rennes, France, 2016 - Reveries Urbaines, Les Champs Libres - 17 Ecrans, FRAC Bretagne - Retrospective, FRAC Bretagne - Kiosque, Parliament of Bretagne Ruutu vases Limited edition, Galerie kreo, London, 2016 Chaines, Galerie kreo, Paris, 2016 Reveries Urbaines, personal exhibition, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, 2016 Selected Bibliography Catalogue de raison, monograph, Images modernes éditions kreo, Paris 2002 Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, monograph, Phaidon Press, London 2003 Objets Dessins Maquettes, exh. cat., Archibooks, Paris 2008 Lianes, exh. cat., JRP|Ringier, Zurich 2012 Works, monograph, Phaidon Press, London 2012 Bivouac, exh. cat., Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz 2012 Drawings, JRP|Ringier, Zurich, 2013 Selected Public Collections Centre Pompidou, Paris Design Museum, London Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam The Art Institute, Chicago The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec were born in Quimper, respectively in 1971 and 1976. As soon as he graduated from the « Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs », Ronan began working alone, progressively assisted by Erwan, who was then still a student at the « Ecole des Beaux-Arts » of Cergy Pontoise. The two brothers have been working together since 1999. Their collaboration is a constant dialogue, one that is fed by their separate identities but strives toward a common goal. They met Giulio Cappellini in 1997, when their “Disintegrated Kitchen” was on show at the Salon du Meuble in Paris. This was to be the starting point of a regular collaboration that has resulted in various projects since 1999. In 2000, Issey Miyake commissioned them to design a shop in Paris for to his new collection A-Poc. The very same year, they met Rolf Felhbaum, Chairman of Vitra, and began working on a new Office Furniture System called “Joyn” which was produced in 2002. This project opened the way for further collaboration. Today, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec work together with numerous manufacturers such as Vitra, Cappellini, Issey Miyake, Magis, Ligne Roset, Habitat and the Kréo Gallery. In addition, they work on architectural projects, like the « Floating House », an artist’s Studio , commissioned by “Le centre d’Art de Chatou”. The brothers were named “Creator of the Year” at the Salon du Meuble in Paris, 2002, and have won multiple awards like the “New Designer Awards” of the International Furniture Fair of New-York in 1999, le Grand Prix du Design de la Ville de Paris in 1998 and the First Prize of Saint-Etienne Biennale in 1998. In 2003, they were voted “designer of the year” by Elle Decoration, Japan. Their designs have been exhibited in many collective or solo exhibitions such as “Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec” at the London Design Museum in 2002. In 2004, 2 solo exhibitions were held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and at the Boijmans Museum of Art in Rotterdam. In summer 2005, they took part in a collective exhibition at the Seoul Art Center, Hangaram Design Museum in Korea. Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s designs are part of the permanent museum collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art, the “Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou” in Paris, the London Design Museum, the Lisbon Design Museum and the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum of Rotterdam. After the first publication dedicated to their work « Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec - Catalogue de raison » Editions Images Modernes/Kréo, 2002, they designed their own book: « Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec », published by Phaidon in 2003. Both brothers regularly take part in workshops at various Schools of Art and Design.