On February 23rd, PIASA is organizing a sale dedicated to French Design from the 1930s to the 1970s.
This sale devoted to 20th century French design (pre-1980s) attests to the great wealth of typologies in the production of furniture and objects during these decades in France.
The catalog does not follow a chronological path but rather an aesthetic bias that reflects the creative audacity of the period. The session thus begins in a very rhythmic way with a series of pieces signed by Mathieu Matégot - which are not limited to creations in perforated sheets - as well as ceramics by Georges Jouve, such as his figurative sculpture from the immediate post-war period. There are also Victor Courtray's almost post-modern seats despite their creation in the 1940s. The tone of the sale is set through these pieces and thus perfectly expresses the formidable richness of the selection!
Georges Jouve (1910-1964)
'Bacchus' sculpture
Estimate: 50000 - 70000 €
The stars of furniture creation of the time are of course represented by many pieces, some of them iconic: Jean Michel Frank with several lights and pedestal tables, Jacques Adnet with a desk designed for Robert Salmon (then director of France Soir), and Jean Royère through a suite of three armchairs and a set of 10 particularly rare chairs. The sale also includes Charlotte Perriand's table called "À gorge" and a prototype of her "Shadow" chair, Jean Prouvé's prototype of his first chair "No. 4", and Pierre Jeanneret's set of furniture from the arrangements of Chandigarh.
Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) & Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967)
Bookcase
Estimate: 20000 - 30000 €
These achievements are compared with pieces imagined by designers who are at times less mediatized but are nonetheless important in the development of design at that time. Their impact is evidenced by the furniture of the "American" period of Marc du Plantier, the animal sculptures of François Raty, which sometimes take on functional dimensions in François-Xavier Lalanne, the wooden furniture of Pierre Chapo, or the furniture with very modern lines - not to say pompidolienne - of Pierre Paulin.
François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008)
'Oiseau d'argent' table
Estimate: 50000 - 70000 €
