Nathalie Du Pasquier b. 1957
As one of the founding members of Memphis, Nathalie Du Pasquier has created some of the most recognizable motifs of postmodern design. Born in Bordeaux, France in 1957, Du Pasquier quotes her mother, an art historian and her father, a virologist, as early inspirations in her appreciation towards art and the natural world. With a curiosity to see the world piqued by living in an active port town, at eighteen-years-old she set out for Gabon and West Africa, spending two years traveling and absorbing the cultures that would later inspire her design sensibilities and interest in bright, bold surface pattern.
In 1979 she moved to Milan to work as an au pair. She was drawn to the city for its modern attitude and because it wasn’t “overwhelmed by the beauty of the past.” There, she met her partner George Sowden, a British designer who encouraged her to become interested in modern design. Despite having no formal education, she began working for the fashion brands Fiorucci and Naj Oleari creating textile patterns. In 1981, Ettore Sottsass invited her and Sowden to join the newly formed Memphis group. Du Pasquier says that she was especially drawn to Sottsass’s anarchic, anti-academic style and non-hierarchical approach to taste. Her main contributions to the iconic design style were textiles and furniture, though she also created clothing, plastic laminates, ceramics and objects. Typical of Du Pasquier’s elevated but playful style is her investigation between space and form and exploration of the realm of the imagination.
In 1987, Du Pasquier left the Memphis group and devoted herself to painting and reconnecting with the classics of art history; in recent years she was returned to designing items such as clothing, jewelry and carpets. She did a well-received collaboration with American Apparel in 2014 and in 2015 she had a solo exhibition at Exile in Berlin and a retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania in 2017, Big Objects Not Always Silent. She continues to live and work in Milan.
Auction Results Nathalie Du Pasquier
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Royal daybed
estimate: $4,000–5,000
result: $8,125
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Carrot vase
estimate: $500–700
result: $4,375
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Drimmer table lamp
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $2,794
Nathalie Du Pasquier
tapestry
estimate: $3,000–5,000
result: $1,800
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Doulce Response clock from Objects for the Electronic Age
estimate: $1,500–2,000
result: $1,500
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Bombay occasional table
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $1,250
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Desir lamp from Objects for the Electronic Age
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $1,188
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Bordeaux table lamp
estimate: $500–700
result: $1,188
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Esperance Box from Objects for the Electronic Age
estimate: $1,500–2,000
result: $1,125
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Gravieux Accueil box from Objects for the Electronic Age
estimate: $1,500–2,000
result: $1,125
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Esperance Box
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $875
Nathalie Du Pasquier
mirror for La Donna magazine
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $829
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Cauliflower bowl
estimate: $300–500
result: $750
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Untitled
estimate: $500–700
result: $625
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Onion bowl
estimate: $300–500
result: $625
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Carrot vase
estimate: $300–500
result: $625
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Esperance Box from Objects for the Electronic Age
estimate: $700–900
result: $594
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Onion bowl
estimate: $100–150
result: $375
Nathalie Du Pasquier
vase
estimate: $300–500
result: $281
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Istar brooch
estimate: $100–150
result: $250
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Plaisant Mainten clock from Objects for the Electronic Age
estimate: $1,000–1,500
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Drimmer table lamp
estimate: $2,000–3,000
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Untitled
estimate: $7,000–9,000
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Zola table lamp
estimate: $3,000–4,000