Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/32301
Demisch Danant shines new light onFrench Revolution French postwar reconstruction design. BY LINDA LEE Leave it to the French to have an entire farm team of talented mid-century designers who were, until recently, almost unknown. French superstars like Prouvé and Perriand were born at the turn of the 20th century. But this group came of age after World War II and, besides familiar names like Pierre Paulin and Serge Mouille, includes many less familiar ones: Rene-Jean Caillette, born in 1919; Alain Richard, Michel Mortier, Pierre Guariche, Joseph-André Motte, all born around 1925; and Genevieve Dangles, Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Leqoc, all born around 1930. “This generation of designers have been underestimated and underappreciated for some years, mostly because of a lack of knowledge,” says Stephane Danant, of the Demisch Danant gallery. At Design Miami/Basel, the Demisch Danant booth is set up as a 1960s home, both interior and exterior, and is show- ing only Joseph-André Motte, including some very rare pieces. Demisch Danant has shown many standouts from this group and currently has a Philippon/Lecoq show in New York. “I think it’s a good time for Motte, Caillette, Guariche, Philip- pon and Lecoq,” Danant says. Recent interest was boosted by an exhibit of 250 works at Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris called “Mobi-Boom: The Explosion of Design in France from 1945 to 1975.” Women’s Wear Daily said, when Mobi-Boom opened in September, “Many of the cre- ators featured… are bound to become newly collectible thanks to this showcase.” Dominique Forest, curator of the exhibit, wrote in the catalog that 1947 to 1975 was a period of profound change in France. “This included the emergence of smaller apartments, working women, the arrival of television, the expansion of leisure time.” Post-war furniture designers responded with newer, more afford- able materials like plastic, rattan, foam and Formica and with mass production. They were also given a rare opportunity: the country was being rebuilt from the ground up. As Motte said, “After the war we found ourselves amidst a heap of ruins with nearly a million buildings destroyed.” Suzanne Demisch says this generation of designers believed they were revitalizing a destitute economy. “They were young architects and it felt like they were on some kind of mission, about improving lives and people’s conditions.” 56 CULTURED Credenza, 1958, made from Rio Palisander wood and brass.