1922 - 1988
Trained as a silversmith, Mouille brought a craftsman’s virtuosity to metal; a material at the center of modern mass production. While employed as a young designer with the window dressing department of the Galeries Lafayette; Mouille met Francois Stahly and was introduced to the Espace Group, which advocated collaboration between artists, designers, architects and planners for the creation of harmonious living arrangements and the rationalization of modern life. Though Mouille had begun his career producing small objets d’art; his association with this community soon inspired him to create works which could be integrated into contemporary designs for modern living. In collaboration with Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and other luminaries of function-oriented design; Mouille wrought his revolutionary series of lamps to illuminate the clean and spacious interiors of 20th century French design. Always fascinated by the ductile properties of metal, Mouille delighted in exploring the formal and expressive possibilities of his design motifs, most notably in his cutout monotypes, sheets of metal incised and twisted to create abstract or figurative shapes. Movement and the malleability of forms are also the themes of his many designs for lighting. Through systems of sockets and swiveling arms, Mouille constructed his signature Lampadaire Trois Bras, mobile sconces and futuristic desk lamps; fusing light and motion in the spirit of modernism.