Lars Kinsarvik, “Two Chairs”, Norway, ça 1905.
Over the past two decades, Franck Laigneau has emerged as a prescient tastemaker in the design world. establishing his namesake gallery in 1998, Laigneau has consistently represented designers creating an array of furnishings that walk the line between decorative art and functional design.
Always brimming with a sort of youthful enthusiasm and zest, his most recent exhibition at the Paris Art + Design fair paid homage to a more classical period of design, one where the primary medium is wood. Ranging from hand-carved beds, tables, chairs, shelves and all manner of decor, Laigneau has curated an eclectic array of what are essentially one-of-a-kind objects.
“What you see here is all done by hand,” says Laigneau, referring to a collection whose origin ranges from the 19th to the 20th century, a period of design that saw simple but painstakingly imagined pieces.
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“At the gallery we have rich influences from Scandinavia and Germany, but also Switzerland,” he explains. Those influences include works by designers like Lars Kinsarvik (whose “Viking Design” was featured at Design Miami/ Basel 2013), Patriz Huber (whose work hails from late-19th century Germany), Hans Itel, Heinrich Eckinger and Herman Ranzenberger.
Franz Sproll, “Low Cabinet”, Elm, ca. 1940.
So why wood? “Wood is personal.”
Organic? “Organic, yes, and very much the most attractive element to the public right now. It has character.”
Franz Sproll, “Pair Of Stools”, Elm, ca. 1950.
Many of the go-to flavors of the month lose their luster after a few years of sitting in the parlor. But, as Laigneau suggests, wood ages with the home and the owner, taking on stains and color that add a character to the pieces that that other materials cannot.
“At the gallery you see elm, oak and other wood worked by hand,” says Laigneau. “It is really a return to classic design and form.”
