Pierre Yovanovitch is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his iconic armchair, Asymmetry, opening new locations in Paris and New York and envisioning an exhibition celebrating the centenary of Ville Noailles, in Hyères. Autumn
An interior designer with a sense of eclecticism is full of projects.
Madame Figaro. – Your Asymmetry chair is celebrating its 10th anniversary. How do you explain its success, its timeless side?
Pierre Yovanovich. – I made it after the Bear, which became a cult armchair. But Asymmetry is, in fact, our best-selling model. I’m not explaining it. Maybe because it reflects the spirit of my work well. I love, in fact, imperfect, unexpected shapes, but connected with roundness and comfort.
Is comfort a central element of your work as a designer?
For me, there is no real beauty without comfort. As an interior designer, I have to design spaces and objects that make you happy, in which you feel good. My chairs, my sofas, my armchairs contribute to a form of conviviality: they make you want to sit down and read, think, eat. And that’s why I always balance my preference for straight lines and cleanliness with warm details, such as enveloping elements, pleasant materials, but also with the use of colors. This quest is reassuring for me as well. I’m a restless person, so when I’m at home or working for a client, I need to cultivate a sense of security. I like the niche idea. I have dogs and for them the ritual in the kennel is very important. It’s the same for me!
You are also a faithful man. A few years ago, you fell in love with the artist Claire Taburet, whom you entrusted with the mission of marking the 10th anniversary of Asymmetry.
I discovered Claire Taburet a little over ten years ago from one of my clients who collected her works. I fell in love with it and went to see one of his exhibitions. Then I treated myself to one of his ceramics. A year or two later I was invited to a dinner that the Bugada & Cargnel gallery hosted in his honor. I was on his right and we talked, especially about my love for frescoes. At the end of the meal I asked him to paint the chapel on my property in the south. She accepted and kept her word. Seven years ago, she came to tattoo the chapel, from floor to ceiling, with children. On this occasion, we were able to hang out. Bonds of trust were created. Thus, when I wanted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Asymmetry, I immediately remembered her. She painted ten armchairs on Manufacture royale Bonvallet fabrics dyed in ten colors that she chose herself. While she is now developing work around the landscape, she has chosen childhood as her common thread. Finally she returned to the topic of our meeting.
For the 10th anniversary of his Asymmetry armchair, the interior designer asked Claire Taburet to paint ten models of his seat.
Alessio Boni
You have a taste for art, but also for craftsmanship.
What’s fantastic about my job is that I have access to masters with unlimited knowledge and experience. They are capable of taking on incredible challenges such as, for example, making huge sofas from raw wood. It’s very complicated, because raw wood, the only one I use, is alive, alive and can be split. People who buy our furniture know that it will evolve. And if I love drawing, gesture, I am also attached to the material, always in connection with nature, such as wood, glass made of sand, but also earth, ceramics, which I especially use for my lighting fixtures.
Living room of Château de Fabrègues.
Paolo Abate
Very important lighting fixtures in your collections…
Yes, light is important to me. I was born in Nice and grew up in the south, sharp and strong, forged by the cloud-dispelling mistral. I miss her. So it affects my work. I will often design interiors where the light is “underneath”, as if we closed the shutters to protect ourselves. So, I avoid direct lighting, too aggressive architectural LEDs… I like the play of shadows, as if the sun is trying to pass through the shutters. This brings peace. The importance of light led me to design lighting. They often have an almost human form. There is a touch of humor in their silhouette, because it seems to me that you can be sophisticated without taking yourself too seriously. Some are like small characters, like the ET model, a table lamp that is associated with an alien. The polished glass bubble that serves as its head is not smooth, as if imperfect, the foot is in enameled ceramic, which gives a random touch. Glazed ceramics have the magic of never being what you expect. We choose a color, but after cooking it is not exactly what we wanted. And it’s beautiful. Especially since we feel the hand of both men and women behind its production.
I’m insecure, so when I’m at home or working for a client, I have to cultivate a sense of security
Pierre Yovanovich
So you’re looking for imperfection?
Nature is imperfect. I’m trying to get closer to him somehow. I would always prefer a tree with a curved trunk that struggled to find light over another straight specimen. However, under the windows of Château de Fabrègues there is a French garden, my refuge. And I love that. Everything around is more romantic and beautiful. I believe that deep down I am nothing but contradictions.
Château de Fabrègues is an aesthetic manifesto for Pierre Yovanovitch, master of the place since 2009. Contemporary art, personal creations and subtle craftsmanship coexist here.
Jerome Galland
Do these contradictions lead you to some form of eclecticism?
Could be ! In any case, eclecticism is a word that suits me well. In the interiors I design, I can combine classic furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries with contemporary design and my own creations. My vision is somewhat of a collector’s, and I believe that wealth creates harmony.
Reading corner in the castle.
Jerome Galland
And professionally, you are more and more eclectic…
A little bit the occupations got mixed up. I founded my interior design agency in 2001. I designed furniture for my projects. People wanted to buy them. That’s how I started my publishing house in 2021. It was in the order of things. For a long time, I dreamed of doing scenography. And I was able, in 2023, to sign the opera Rigoletto, by Verdi, by Vincent Huguet at the Basel theater, in Switzerland. I didn’t think twice: this opportunity was offered to me on a platter! This year I also imagined an exhibition on the occasion of the centenary of Villa Noailles in Hyères. And this was a surprise. And it was exciting. I was interested in the changes in the decor in this house built by Robert Mallet-Stevens at the request of Marie-Laure and Charles de Noailles, and where Marie Laure lived until the 1970s, I discovered that the simplicity, the functional aspect, in certain rooms, it was replaced by a maximalist, almost bourgeois spirit. Marie-Laure de Noailles’ tastes evolved, influencing the layout of her interior. So I wanted to imagine what her request would be if she used my services today.
Another aspect of his talent, the scenography of Rigoletto, at the Theater Basel.
Paolo Abate
I wrote a narration that led from room to room, as if showing the place to Charles – who had left the Villa to live in Grasse, but with whom she exchanged wonderful correspondence. I staged pieces borrowed from galleries and museums, I integrated some of my own creations into this journey. I also display art that she might like, like those of Bernard Buffet or César, which she asked to compress her car. I had her portrait done by Giulia Andreani. My favorite room is undoubtedly the one where I bloomed an unusual flower with luminous pistils. The space – it was a white cube – was transformed into a living room with rounded walls. To be able to go that far is fantastic! The housing project includes functional limitations. People come to us for style, but you have to put yourself at the service of your client, his dream, and listen to him. The scenography is something completely different. We are much freer. I hope to succeed again and again!
Villa Noailles transformed this summer by Pierre Yovanovitch.
Paolo Abate
But will you be able to manage everything at the same time?
I have unlimited energy. And sick ambition. Maybe it’s because I want to prove that I’m much better than what I was meant to be when I was young. I have to take revenge on life. Which doesn’t stop me from being deeply honest. I like a direct relationship with interlocutors, I’m not a diva. I listen to my customers, I want to please them with all humility. Of course, there are also downsides to this existence: a lot of travel, less and less time for yourself… It’s a big physical and mental pressure. But that means always doing more!