Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/48690
M P For Maria Pergay, 81, design has always come naturally. "I'm not searching for ideas," she says. "They just pop into my mind. It's a gift." She's the first to admit that that isn't exactly fair. But at this point in her career, she's unapologetic—quite simply, she was born with it. And in light of her staggering repertoire, she has certainly earned the right to gloat. For some 55 years now, Pergay has put her innate talent to exceedingly good use. The Russian- born, Paris-based designer has crafted interiors for collectors and dignitaries around the world but she is best known for her work in stainless steel—a material she describes as one of the great loves of her life. For Pergay, who initially made works in silver, it has been a classic good boy/bad boy paradigm: "Silver was too soft—everything I asked, it would give it to me," she says. "I first saw stainless steel in a store for cooking supplies. We started to fight together, the metal and myself. And I talked to him and said, 'I will make of you a beautiful piece of silk.'" True to her word, she has since coaxed the im- possibly sturdy alloy into modish ergonomic recliners, whimsical ribbon-shaped benches and curva- ceous, reflective and industrial-chic desks, consoles, coffee tables and commodes. Following this fall's publication of her catalogue raisonné (Damiani's Maria Pergay: Complete Works, 1957–2010), Pergay is looking toward an exciting 2012. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is set to ac- quire her work for its permanent holdings and in the spring, she will be formally inducted into France's Legion of Honor. She is also preparing for a March exhibition in a private mansion on Paris' Place des Vosges—where Pergay opened her first boutique in 1960. "I feel very honored," she says, but not nec- essarily because of the formal recognition. "I would like it just as much if someone said, 'Oh, I love this piece! It's so nice and well-done." CULTURED 81 a ria E R G A Y PHOTO BY PHILIPPE PONS