THE ARTISTIC ALCHEMY OF DESIGN

Photo  Antoine  Lippens

At Fondation CAB St Paul de Vence, art and design come together in harmony.

Inaugurated in June 2021, this is the second outpost of the Belgian collector Hubert Bonnet.

“In an uncertain and troubled world, I create my own story that takes on meaning, imprinted with the values of transmissions brought through relationships. This transmission is today my goal and a continuity for which I work with passion and determination.”

Hubert Bonnet

Situated in the village of St Paul de Vence, Fondation CAB is just a few steps away Fondation Maeght, one of Europe’s great 20th-century art collections as well as La Colombe d’Or, one of those rare places that has defied the passing of time and stayed true to its history, where the walls are hung with artworks by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque and Fernand Léger.

The building with lines inspired by the Bauhaus has been renovated under the artistic direction of Charles Zana in a refined spirit whose guidelines are purity and beauty.

In this context, minimal and conceptual art pieces as well as a design collection from the 1950s to the 1970s find all of its meaning.

Simple lines and shapes, inventiveness, ingenuity, modernism, such is the sought-after aesthetic.

Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Poul Kjaerholm or even Alvar Aalto, Jules Wabbes, George Nakshima, are some of the designers and architects who furnish this large private house that is Foudation CAB in St Paul de Vence.

The major historical piece in the collection is the 6x6 meters removable house by French builder and designer Jean Prouvé.

Dating from 1944, it was produced in a series of c. 200 copies (it is believed that c. 50 remain) with lightweight prefabricated materials, a folded steel structure supported by an axial gantry and assembled by standardized wooden panels; it was originally divided into three parts and assembled in twenty-four hours.

While the modular conception offered an emergency solution to disaster victims in Lorraine and in the Franche-Comté at the end of World War II, it subsequently became a collector’s item.

Inside, original furniture and lighting are installed, such as table, chairs, bed and wardrobe by Jean Prouvé, armchairs by Pierre Jeanneret for Chandigarh, a unique lamp by George Nakashima and a pair of wall lights by Charlotte Perriand.

"Everything I've done has always flowed from a thought that was instantly constructive. I never had a vision or a shape in mind, I don't have a style. I have never drawn shapes.

I made constructions that had a shape. »

Jean Prouvé

Fondation CAB Photograph Antoine LIPPENS