On 4 November, the French auction house Tajan will present 141 pieces created by some of the greatest names in 20th- and 21st-century design. Sumptuous sets from Prouvé, Guariche, Royère and Martin Szekely will punctuate the session, and, in addition to big French names, standouts of Italian, Scandinavian and Brazilian design will also appear during the sale.
The work of architect and designer Jean Prouvé combines elegance with economy of means. His career spanned more than 60 years, during which time he created plans for schools, businesses and municipal projects, such as the sanatoriums of the Asian plateau or the Maison du Peuple in Clichy. For Prouvé, design was a sign of progress, and even today some of his projects are seen as precursors of modern architecture. Critics associate Prouvé with a utilitarian and rigorous design in which materials are used in their purest forms, but without compromising style.
Among his body of work presented at Tajan, the SAM Tropique N ° 503 table is particularly notable. Designed in the early 1950s, the table coincides with the period during which Prouvé experimented with industrial housing and produced aluminium sheds for the Mame printing house in Tours, France.
Another standout is the BA12 sideboard made of folded sheet steel (the same material Prouvé used in his famous reclining chair), created in 1948. A desk and low pedestal table will also appear during the auction.
After a brief career in import-export, Jean Royère became a decorator at the age of 29. Although he had no formal training, he had a flair for decorating, and after successfully producing pieces for family he was employed by the Carlton bar on the Champs-Élysées in 1933. Employed at Pierre Gouffré from 1934 until 1942, Royère continued his career as an independent decorator and founded agencies in Lebanon, Egypt and Syria. There he became the official decorator of various regional rulers while continuing to develop new series such as Ondulations and the Flaque and Boule sofas.
Tajan’s catalogue contains five pieces by Royère, including a large rosewood veneer sideboard, a dining table, a set of six chairs, a wall console and the Ondulations table from 1955.
Although Guariche and his agency were responsible for designing hundreds of interiors, including the Tribunal Judiciaire in Créteil, Le Méridien hotel in Paris and apartments in La Plagne, he is particularly remembered for his lights. He was first recognised for his Cerf-Volant design, made in the 1950s by Disderot. Some of his furniture is still in production today and available in stores.
Three works by Guariche dating from the early 1950s will appear during the sale. Among them, two models from the Cerf-Volant or ‘Kite’ series: the G30 floor lamp and the G25 wall lamp, which Guariche himself used above his dining table.
After studying at École Boulle, Martin Szekely first garnered attention in 1982 with his Pi lounge chair, a copy of which is now kept at the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Although his name may be unknown to the general public, Szekely designed the famous Perrier bottle, reproduced over 20 million times. Szekely’s goal was to seek the simplest possible expression of an object, a vision that makes his work unique. “My wish is to create common places, in the universal sense. That is to say, products understandable by all. What interests me is to create objects that are not images and that invite use,” he once said.
Collectors can also treat themselves to an exceptional coffee table by the Israeli-British designer Ron Arad, produced by One Off in 1985. The 1980s marked the designer's first successes, in particular his collaboration with the Italian furniture giant Kartell. Manipulation of materials, experimentation and transformation are hallmarks of Arad's work. Using completely new forms and technologies, he dances on the border between design and art and creates entirely unique pieces as a result. His Italian Fish armchair sculpture (1988) and the Round Rail Bed (1981) are among the pieces offered at Tajan.
Other designers included in Tajan’s sale are Ettore Sottsass, Franco Albini, Hans J. Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, Joaquim Tenreiro and Oscar Mieneyer. The entire catalogue is available online, and the auction exhibit will be shown from 30 October to 4 November at Tajan in Paris. The auction will take place on 4 November, and bids may be placed online or in person.
