French creator, Pop Art & Design pioneer
15 to 30 September 2026. Galerie Argentine, housed within the Embassy of the Argentine Republic in Paris, presents a solo exhibition by Louis Durot, in dialogue with a work by Wei Liu. Curated by Ariana Saenz Espinoza.
Heir to Pop Art and Nouveau Réalisme, Louis Durot turns the furniture object into sculpture. Shaped from polyurethane subverted with virtuosity, his work gives rise to carnivorous-plant armchairs, spiral seats and atomic mushroom tables, in a universe with postapocalyptic overtones. Between derision and technical mastery, the exhibition reveals the prolific output of a pioneering artist.
Galerie Argentine, 6 rue Cimarosa, 75116 Paris.
In 2024, the Vitra Design Museum acquired an Aspirale by Louis Durot — an iconic seating piece by the designer, now presented within its permanent collection alongside landmark works in the history of contemporary design.
Former assistant to César, Louis Durot is a French designer born in 1939 who, in the late 1960s, applied his training as a chemical engineer to create hand-made polyurethane pieces. First conceived in 1968, the Aspirale draws from the radical design of the decade while embodying a resolutely pop aesthetic.
In 2022 and again in 2025, Galerie Sohe in Shanghai — one of the leading venues in China's contemporary design scene — exhibited Louis Durot's work and produced an edition of his iconic Table langue in bronze, reflecting renewed international interest in his practice across the Asian continent.
Louis Durot's works were also exhibited at the Fondation Cherqui, alongside pieces by George Nelson, Ettore Sottsass, Agam, Julio Le Parc and others. From 20 September to 20 October 2025, in connection with Paris Design Week, the Fondation Cherqui presented the Aubervilliers Design Month — curated by Ariana Saenz Espinoza — an exhibition devoted to the golden age of radical design from the 1960s and 70s, in which his sculpture-seats, including the iconic Aspirale, received particular focus.
The prestigious French literary and cultural magazine Quinzaines dedicated an article to Louis Durot's work. Published in issue 1271 of December 2025 and written by Olivier Bréa, the piece — titled "Louis Durot : La subversion par la matière" — traces the career of this singular designer, a leading figure in radical design born out of Nouveau Réalisme and Pop Art, and places him among the last great living French designers of his generation.