Biography
Pierre Charpin was born in 1962 and graduated from the Beaux–Arts de Bourges in 1984. Since the early 1990s he has devoted himself to designing furniture and objects. In 1990 his first solo exhibition was held at the GaleriePerkal (Paris) where he presented his research into the possibility of “anthropomorphic” furniture, and a series of silver tableware objects, manufactured in 1988 by Algorythme. In 1993 he developed his Stackable Chair project thanks to a grant from the FIACRE [French Minister of Culture]. In 1995 he was given the Carte blanche of the VIA (Valorisation Innovation dansl’Ameublement). He designedseveralseatingprojects for La Collection tropicale (La Maison du meuble créole, La Réunion) in 1996. That same year he participated in and was responsible for curating the exhibition “Assembled in Ivry” at the CREDAC (Centre d’art contemporain d’Ivry–sur–Seine). In 1997 he participated in the first Design Biennial in Saint–Étienne, in which he attracted attention with Vroom, his research into the car as an object, resulting from a workshop with students from the Beaux–Arts de Saint–Étienne.
His practice has centered on experimental projects — in particular those conducted with the Centre international de recherchesur le verre et les arts plastiques (CIRVA) from 1998 to 2001, and the Centre de recherchesur les arts du feu et de la terre (CRAFT) between 2003 and 2005 — and in the course of his collaborations with renowned manufacturers such as Alessi, Arita 16/16, Design Gallery Milano, Hay, Hermès, Japan Creative, Ligne Roset, la Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, Post Design, Tectona, Tornitore Matto, Träffa Träffa, Venini.
After mounting a first solo exhibition of his work in 1999, the Galeriekreo (Paris) has held the exclusive right to produce limited editions of his pieces, presented in solo exhibitions since 2005: 
Platform in 2006
All’aperto in 2008
8 1/2 in 2009
Ignotus Nomen in 2011
Marbles & Clowns in 2015 (London)
Similitude(s) en 2020
His solo exhibitions include: 
Una mostra di mobili, 1998, Galerie Post Design (Milan) 
Torno subito, 2001, Galerie des Curiosités du Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris)
Stands, 2002, Design Gallery Milano (Milan) 
Oggetti lenti, 2005, Design Gallery Milano
Pierre Charpin 2005 ,Grand-Hornu Images (Mons)
Entre les vases, 2009, Musée de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains MUDAC (Lausanne) 
Pierre Charpin au Grand-Hornu, vingt années de travail, 2011, Grand-Hornu Images (Mons) 
Pierre Charpin à l’appartement 50, 2014, Cité Radieuse Le Corbusier (Marseille)
Pierre Charpin - La part du dessin, 2014, Galerie Elac (Lausanne) 
Villégiatures, Design Parade 10, 2015, villa Noailles (Hyères)
Atmosphera, 2015,SpheraExhibition (Kyoto)
Performance par Aya kurachiki, 2016, Forum (Kyoto) 
Créateur de l'année, 2017, salon Maison & Objet (Paris)
Todo es de color, 2017, Carte blanche au sein de l'exposition Oh couleurs!, Musée des Arts–Décoratifs et du design (Bordeaux)
Prints, 2021, Gallery Yvon Lambert (Paris)
Struttura and some drawings, 2022, Gallery Giorgio Mastinu (Venice)
Le Marteau et le pinceau, 2023, Gallery Yvon Lambert (Paris)

He also participated to various group shows: 
Assembled in Ivry, 1996, CREDAC (vry-sur-Seine)
Chez Valentin, 2000, Galerie Valentin (Paris)
Dessiner le dessin, 2009, Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris)
Shoes Toy Knife, 2010, Serpentine Gallery (Londres)
En verre et contre tout, 2011,Musée de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains MUDAC (Lausanne) 
U-joints, 2017, Galerie PlusDesign (Milan)
Una fornace a Marsiglia, 2017, Le stanze del vetro (Venice)
Walking sticks & canes, 2024, Triennale (Milan)

Pierre Charpin’s pieces have been included in many books,  monographic publications or alongside other designers, including: 
Pierre Charpin à Vallauris et Pierre Charpin au CIRVA ,carnets de bord, Grégoire Gardette Éditions, 2000 et 2001
Oggeti Lenti, catalogue, 2005, CRAFT
Nouvelles formes pour Sèvres, 2008, Bernard Chauveau Éditeur
Dessiner le dessin, catalogue, 2009, Les arts décoratifs Édition 
Entre les Vases ,catalogue, 2009, MUDAC, Birkhauser
Shoes Toy Knife, catalogue, 2010, Serpentine Gallery et Koenig books 
The drawer, Revue de dessin, 2013, Les presses du réel
En 2014 JRP Ringier publie sa première monographie : Pierre Charpin.
Avec le dessin, 2022, Edition B42 – Villa Noailles
His designs are included in many private collections, and are held in the following public collections: Fonds national d’Art contemporain (Paris/La Défense), Collection du Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), Grand–Hornu Images (Mons), Indianapolis Museum of Art (USA).
In 2004 Pierre Charpin was the winner of the international competition for the design of the Carafe Eau de Paris, produced in an edition of 10 000. His vase Triplo (Venini) featured in the selection list for the Compassod’Oro 2005. In 2012, Pierre Charpin was selected by the French Institut in Japan to attend a research residency in the Villa Kujoyama (Kyoto). He was recently awarded Designer of the Year 2017 by Maison&Objet.
Pierre Charpin has acted as the scenographer of his own exhibitions (at the MUDAC, Grand–Hornu Images, Villa Noailles...), as well as for themed exhibitions such as 
Les sixties mode d'emploi, 2002, Musée de la Mode et du textile (Paris), curator Pamela Golbin 
Mobiboom, 2010, Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), curator Dominique Forest
Quali Cose Siamo ,2010, Third edition of the Triennale Design Museum (Milan), curator Alessandro Mendini
Oh couleurs!, 2017, Musée des Arts Décoratifs et du design (Bordeaux), curator Constance Rubini 
Windows project for Hermes, 2018, Madison Avenue store (New York)
Io sono un drago, Alessandro Mendini, 2024, Triennale et Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain (Milan), curator Fulvio Irace
In parallel with his work as a designer, from 1998 to 2008 he taught design at the Écolesupérieured’Artet de Design in Reims. He has been teaching in the Industrial Design department of the ECAL–University of Art and Design in Lausanne since 2006.
After living in Milan (Italy) at various intervals during the 1990s, he works in Ivry-sur-Seine and lives in Paris.