Serge Mouille

Born in Paris on December 24, 1922, Serge Mouille was trained in metallurgy and goldsmithing at the Ecole des Arts Appliqués de Paris in 1945 by Gabriel Lacroix, sculptor and goldsmith. He subsequently opened his own workshop while teaching at the prestigious Académie des Arts Appliqués in Paris.

Initially intending to produce tableware, a commission from the Compagnie des Arts Français in 1952 prompted Serge Mouille to create a series of lighting fixtures. Serge Mouille began designing floor, ceiling and table lamps.

Recognized during his lifetime by his peers – Jean Prouvé, a master of metallurgy, even had some of Mouille’s pieces in his Nancy home – the designer’s order book swelled after avant-garde gallery owner Steph Simon decided to show his designs in his space in 1956. The silversmith was responsible for the refectory and green spaces at Antony University, and received commissions for the universities of Strasbourg and Aix-Marseille, as well as for the ambulatory of Bizerte Cathedral.

Serge Mouille never took the decision to go into industrial production, preferring to offer the public the quality of a hand-finish. Forced to stop production in 1961 due to illness, Serge Mouille returned to the Ecole des arts appliqués as a teacher after his convalescence. He died in 1988.