Philippe Hiquily

Estimate

100,000 - 150,000 USD

bidding is closed

Description

Philippe Hiquily
Adjustable Dining Table
stainless steel

Provenance

Acquired from the artist by Monsieur Bideau, Paris
Private Collection, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Literature

Philippe Hiquily, Catalogue Raisonné 1948-2011, vol. 2, Paris, 2012, p. 47, cat. no. 716

Catalogue Note

This table comprises 16 elements and can be configured as a single large dining table, two smaller tables or two console tables. Only two examples of this model are known to exist.

This lot is sold together with a certificate of authenticity by the Comité Hiquily.

Hiquily was many things: a follower of metal sculptor Julio Gonzales, admirer of Alexander Calder’s mobiles and Marcel Duchamp’s “ready-made,” and lover of Primitive and Surrealist Art. A sculptor by nature, Hiquily was seemingly not predestined to become famous for his furniture design. Ironically, however, his status as one of the great sculptors of the 20^th Century is due in large part to the acclaim he has received for his furniture, as supported by the recent acquisition of a 1976 table by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the numerous record-breaking results for his work at auction.

As Pierre Cabane wrote, Hiquily did not see furniture as a “diverted version” of his work as a sculptor, even if he claimed to be a sculptor and not a furniture designer. Hiquily’s originality lies in the fact that he did not transpose his sculptures into pieces of furniture. Rather, he developed a distinctive formal vocabulary made of generous abstract shapes and sensual, erotic lines and volumes that almost never used any figurative element.

From 1966 onwards, great interior designer Henri Samuel commissioned Hiquily for several pieces for his most prestigious clients such as Van Zuylen, Rothschild, Haas, Vilmorin and Malraux, Delubac, contributing to the success of the artist.

This important inox table is the second and last example of the Design table that was originally created in 1968 for François-Poncet’s American wife. This second table was commissioned by Jean-François Bideau, a dealer who organized an exhibition of Hiquily’s works, Pièges à Louve, in 1976 and commissioned and collected many works by the artist.

Hiquily conceived two different configurations: depending on their organization, the sixteen elements can form either a large dining table, an octagonal table, or two wall-tables each composed by half of a table.

The foot of the Design table, with its pure, fluid lines, is typical of Hiquily’s work. It is representative of the sculptor’s distinct approach to furniture, relying on industrial processes, new technologies, and innovative materials to produce everyday objects that would combine aesthetic and functionality.

– Tara Hiquily
President of the Comité Hiquily