For its first session in 2020, PIASA presents a selection of some of the most significant designers of the 20th century. Represented here by several wooden tables, Pierre Chapo has gradually risen through the pantheon of contemporary design.
It was following his family's move to the Cher department that he first experimented with painting. But rather quickly, through an encounter with a marine carpenter, the young man discovered woodworking.
He decides to enrol at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in the architecture section. Fascinated by travel, he spent several periods abroad during his studies. In addition to Germany, which he discovered in the context of his military service, he travelled to Scandinavian countries before embarking on a year-long journey to Central America.
Back in France, Pierre Chapo continues to work with wood, mainly oak, ash and solid elm, which he combines with his dual interest in contemporary design and the know-how of traditional craftsmanship. After a few years, he opened a gallery on Boulevard de l'Hôpital, where he exhibits his work as well as that of other creators such as Isamu Noguchi, with whom he shares a sculptural and organic approach. In 1960, as part of the Arts and Techniques of Crafts exhibition, his work was rewarded with a Gold Medal from the city of Paris.
He develops the furniture workshop in Clamart and participates in several projects with various master architects, including Charlotte Perriand for the Les Arcs station. This collaboration will have a profound influence on his work, particularly in the creation of the coffee tables proposed during this sale.
Pierre Chapo (1927-1987)
Model no. T22, Œil
Coffee table
Elm wood
Creation date: 1972
H 34×L 155×P 112,5 cm
Estimation : 12000 / 18000 €
The T22 model, known as Œil, is estimated at between 12,000 and 18,000 euros. Made of elm, it was designed in the early 1970s. The very original shape of this piece of furniture reflects the inventiveness to which the designer had accustomed his clients.
Pierre Chapo (1927-1987)
Model no. T23
Coffee table
Elm wood
Pierre Chapo Edition
Creation date: circa 1960
H 35×L 61 ×P 62 cm
Estimation : 3000 / 4000 euros
He used the same material in 1960 for the "Model T23" coffee table, which alone illustrates the virtuosity of its author and the poetry of the shapes he creates. Pierre Chapo will thus continue his career also giving conferences in France and abroad whose subject revolves around the notions of cabinetmaker, carpenter, wood, tradition, creation and sincerity.
