"Simplicity is the glory of expression." - Walt Whitman
 
 a new book, "The Impossible Collection of Design" by Frédéric Chambre
"The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, 
and, ironically, the more real." - Lucian Freud

"In recent years, the decorative furnishings niche has become of tremendous interest to collectors, causing a surge in the auction market and bringing record sales. Chosen by design expert Frédéric Chambre, this selection of furniture designs unspools like the frames of a film, an epic picture composed of one hundred years of creative innovations in form, materials, and techniques. As in art history, themes can be traced across changing trends: design versus the machine, design versus craft, design versus art—a story that continues to unfold. This hand-bound oversize luxury edition traces the development of twentieth-century design from the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements through Bauhaus and Art Deco, Pop Art and the Memphis school, to today’s digital age, illustrating the dynamic story of a groundbreaking century through the evolution of everyday human objects. With degrees in law and art history, Frédéric Chambre became a partner at the Calmels-Chambre-Cohen auction house in 1996. Chambre co-founded Pierre Bergé and Associates in 2002, and became vice president and partner in 2005; he was co-organizer of the February 2009 sale of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé collection at Christie’s in Paris."

more info here..




SERGE MOUILLE (1922–88), 
France. Saturne ceiling light. Metal, aluminum, brass. H: 385.8 in. (980 cm), W: TK. Galerie Patrick Seguin, Paris.   © Thierry Depagne – Archives Galerie Patrick Seguin   


"Is Serge Mouille a manufacturer of lighting systems, a collector of mollusk shells, a transcendent sculptor, like Calder, or an aluminum maniac?"
 Madeleine Fuchs, Décor d’aujourd’hui, December 1954
 





JEAN-MICHEL FRANK (1895–1941), France. Lamp. 
Ivory strips on bronze base. H: 20.47 in. (52 cm). Private collection, Galerie Vallois, Paris. © Arnaud Carpentier – Archives Galerie Vallois Paris 





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