Joseph-André Motte

A leader of postwar French design, Joseph-André Motte championed ideas of industrialization and modernism to define a more optimistic future. Born in Saint Bonnet in the Alpine southeastern France, Motte moved to Paris to study the applied arts. Motte is known for his application of traditional techniques to contemporary forms and combination of established and modern materials; in early work, such as his iconic Tripod Chairs (1949), Motte incorporated artisanal techniques of woven rattan with modern structure. By 1954, Motte was the founder of his own agency and co-founder of the collective design bureau, Atelier de Recherche Plastique (Studio for Plastic Research) along with Pierre Guariche and Michel Mortier, going on to create works renowned for their innovation and mass producibility. Motte’s commissions have spanned airports and large public interiors for the French government, renovation of the Louvre’s Grand Gallery, and presidential desk design.