Pierre Paulin. Petit. Précis. Illustré., Catherine Geel

Since his death in 2009, the work of French design superstar Pierre Paulin has been everywhere, and the futuristic shapes and colours of his pieces, firmly anchored in the 60s and 70s, have become the fetish objects of wealthy design aficionados all over the world.

But in 2016, Catherine Geel — professor of art and design history, Pierre Paulin expert, curator of several exhibitions on him and author of the extensive 2007 monograph Pierre Paulin Designer — decided to offer a singular re-reading of Paulin’s work in Pierre Paulin. Petit. Précis. Illustré., a wonderful small book made up of five interviews with Paulin from the programme À voix nue, aired on France Culture in 2005, three essays by Geel herself and, more unusually, fifty original drawings by graphic designer and illustrator Karl Nawrot.

Under Nawrot’s hand, entirely in black and white, Paulin’s objects become abstract shapes: subtle gleams emerging from the darkness, translucent forms that melt into minimal compositions. Behind its apparent simplicity, the book design by Parisian studio Building Paris sets the perfect stage for this dialogue between Pierre Paulin’s voice and Nawrot’s drawings, and offers a fascinating reflection on a designer’s work. Teeming with lovely details — the references to the central index, the handling of the footnotes — the book offers a reading experience that is at once comfortable, complex and playful.

A beautiful small publication, and a remarkable performance from the Building Paris / Karl Nawrot duo.