Olivier Mourgue 1965 "Djinn" Stool

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OLIVIER MOURGUE

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Stool Model "Djinn"
Manufactured by Airborne
France, 1965
Metal, Upholstery

Measurements
72 x 58 x 40h cm
28,3 x 22,8 x 15,7h in

Provenance
Private collection, France

Literature
Kathryn B. Hiesinger and George H. Marcus, Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design: An Illustrated Handbook, New York, 1993.
Airborne: le design made in France 1945-1975, Pierre Deligny, Éditions Les Modernistes, Paris, 2012.
Mobilia, mars 1965, n°116, similar model illustrated on the cover.

Details
The Djinn chaise longue takes its name from the supernatural spirits of the Quran, known as djinn or genies. It gained widespread recognition after furnishing the futuristic rotating Hilton hotel in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Stanley Kubrick.

Designed by Olivier Mourgue, this piece of furniture is characterized by its undulating, low-slung form, intended for both home and office spaces. Mourgue experimented with color, materials, and flexibility, incorporating stretchable, zip-off nylon covers that could be changed with the seasons.

Growing up in a Parisian apartment filled with Empire-style antique furniture—which he despised—Mourgue once declared in 1965: "Furniture like that has nothing to do with life. One is never at ease in such rooms." Comfort, achieved through groundbreaking form, became the hallmark of his work.

Trained in Paris, Finland, and Sweden, Mourgue was recognized in his twenties as an innovative—even provocative—leader in furniture design.

Biography
Olivier Mourgue was born in Paris in 1939 and is renowned not only for his furniture design but also for his work as a painter and landscape designer. He studied interior design at École Boulle and furniture design at École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, graduating in 1960. From 1958 to 1961, he further trained in Finland and Sweden, working with Maurice Holland and the prestigious Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm.

In 1963, Mourgue joined the French manufacturer Airborne International, based in Montreuil-sous-Bois, where he designed his iconic Djinn chairs (1965). These chairs became world-famous after their appearance in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where they played a key role in Kubrick’s vision of a futuristic Hilton hotel in space. With their distinctive wave-like silhouette and low profile, the Djinn chairs embody Mourgue’s forward-thinking approach to design.

The name Djinn refers to mythical spirits in Muslim legend, beings capable of assuming human or animal form and wielding supernatural influence over people. Interestingly, Kubrick destroyed all the sets and props from 2001: A Space Odyssey, fearing they might fall into the hands of lesser directors.

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