Modern Magazine

The gallery has invited seven clients to lend portions of their private collections—paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and all kinds of objects—arranging them around and on pieces of modern French furniture from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, and the result is inspiring. The furniture has been selected from the gallery’s inventory of French vintage works, such as Bernard Govin’s massive Elliptique armchair (still in its original and now weathered leather upholstery with darkened patina), Michel Boyer’s sleek Osaka console with exotic wengé wood and oak, and Michel Pigneres’s ingenious and elegant stool made with latticed stainless steel. Because of the high quality of production as well as the simplicity of the handsome and balanced forms, these are pieces that represent both modern and classical ideals. They were instrumental in creating the eclectic design aesthetic that emerged in the 1970s and, likewise, they combine gracefully with the diverse collections in the gallery today. Interestingly, while there’s a familial quality that links the furniture, the collections that perch on and radiate around them create seven very distinct environments.