About Alain J.L. Huin
Alain Huin has been at the forefront of international design for over 40 years. His passion for the creative process in many forms – furniture design, architecture, drawing, printmaking, painting and sculpture – has driven his career in exciting directions.
He began his studies at the L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Tours, and went on to graduate from L’Ecole National des Arts Decoratifs (ENSAD) in Paris with a degree in industrial design. Awarded a scholarship from the Canadian government, he continued his graduate studies at the McGill University School of Architecture. Returning to France, he joined a Paris design firm, the Alain Richard Agency. Critical acclaim for his work on Orly Airport and the Paris Metro lead to a position as industrial designer with Raymond Loewy, where his assignments included the Air France Concorde, Holland Railways, Shell International, Saint Gobain and the Charles de Gaulle Airport.
In 1973, France’s Mobilier National named Huin Designer of the Year, and his designs are in their permanent collection.
To expand his horizons beyond industrial design, Huin moved to America and collaborated with Charles Eames on furniture collections for Herman Miller. In 1985, he opened Alain Huin Product Design in New York and created furniture and accessories for Ethan Allen, Crate and Barrel, Bloomingdale’s and Restoration Hardware and many other firms.
Huin’s body of work is now in the Architectural Archives Collection of the University of Florida at Gainesville.
In fact, almost 20 years ago Huin and his wife, Louise, moved to Sarasota, Florida – not to retire, but so Alain could return to his first loves: drawing, painting and sculpture.
Sitting in his studio, surrounded by paintings, prints and piles of notebooks filled with colorful drawings and sketches, Huin says, “People ask me, ‘Do you do art for pleasure?’ I reply, ‘No, it’s a need.’” He laughs, “Art – that’s all I know. I’ll never stop."
