Pepe Cortès

b. 1945

Born in Barcelona, Cortès studied at the Eina School of Art and Design where he was later a teacher. In the early 1970s he established the Grupo Abierto de Diseño (Open Design Group), collaborating with Spanish design contemporaries Oscar Tusquets and Javier Mariscal in creating corporate interiors, furnishing restaurants, and designing furniture. During the 1980s, Cortès was part of the awards committee for the Fomento de las Artes Decorativas (Fostering Arts and Design), for which he was voted first prize FAD public opinion for seven consequtive years. His ‘Jamaica Stool’ from 1991 is particularly adapted for a contract setting, providing 360 degree rotation in an easily-moved, lightweight form.