Michel Mortier

Michel Mortar (1925 - 2015) was born in Paris. Very precocious, he graduated from the Ecole des Arts Wall lights at the age of 19, where he studied under Louis Sognot, René Gabriel and Étienne-Henri Martin, some of the masters of French modernism. He then held a series of positions of responsibility at the Studium du Louvre, then at Le Bon Marché in Brussels, until, at the age of At the age of 24, he became head of Marcel Gascoin's Desk, ARHEC (Aménagement rationnel de l'habitation et des collectivités), a position he held until 1954.

There, he met Pierre Guariche and Joseph-André Motte, with whom he became close friends, eventually founding the Atelier de Recherche Plastic (ARP), one of the first collective design labels in France. This dazzling experience (1954-1957) laid the foundations of French modernity, both through their design proposals for their remarkable stands at the Salon des Arts Ménagers and through the invention of theMinvielle's revolutionary multifunctional furniture, Steiner's modular seating range, and Disderot's use of a new plastic thread-based material, Rotaflex, for its lighting fixtures.

For Michel Mortar, these were just the beginnings of a dazzling career: artistic director of Maison Française 55, designer of models for top French publishers, editor of numerous magazines, graphic designer and, above all, teacher at almost all the leading schools in France (ENSAD, Camondo, École des Arts Appliqués and the new product design school ESAG Penninghen), as well as in Montreal.

With his agency HEIM (Habitation, Esthétique Industrielle Mobilier), he devoted himself to interior architecture, obtaining the title of architect in 1977 for the design of beautiful private homes in a modern, uncluttered style.

This discreet but uncompromising man has won every title a designer could dream of: Silver-plated at 26, Gold-plated at 29 at the Milan Triennale and the René-Gabriel prize at 38!

The range of lighting fixtures he designed with Stone Guariche in the early 1950s is marked by modernity, rigorous design and a genuine concern for functionality.

Pieces by Michel Mortier have been included in major design collections such as those of the CNAP, the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Etienne Métropole and the national collection of decorative arts.