Sep 28, 2010 Paints from The Le Corbusier collection
A book of all of the swatches made for Corb by Salubra from 1931 to 1959 was published by Birkhäuser in 1997. A young chemist, Katrin Trautwein, the co-founder of KT Color, then started to explore the possibility of manufacturing the paints and secured a license to do so from the Fondation Le Corbusier. ‘‘It was a gut decision,’’ she recalled. ‘‘I loved the color combinations. Even today it is the only palette that, to my knowledge, is constructed to allow each hue to match the others. You pick at random, look at them and feel gratified.’’
Corb’s idiot-proofing is one reason why those paints are still appealing. Another is that they’re particularly well made. Most paint manufacturers produce their colors from different combinations of about a dozen industrial pigments, whereas KT Color reproduces Corb’s from more than 120 mostly mineral pigments. You don’t need a doctorate in chemistry to spot the difference. Those extra pigments make his hues look richer, deeper and more complex. link