Antoine Philippon / Jacqueline Lecoq

Antoine Philippon (1930-1995) trained at the École Boulle; Jacqueline Lecoq (1932), at ENSAD. They met in 1955 in Marcel Gascoin’s design office, where most of the generation’s leading designers passed through, from Pierre Guariche to Pierre Paulin. In 1956, they decided to work together, creating the design office that bears their names. Their collaboration, exceptional in its duration, would not end until the death of Antoine Philippon in 1995. Throughout their careers, they presented their creations at the Salon des Arts ménagers and the Salon des artistes décorateurs (which Antoine Philippon chaired from 1970 to 1972). They took part in the Brussels (1958) and Montreal (1967) World Fairs, and received numerous commissions from the Mobilier National. They received several prestigious awards, including the René Gabriel prize in 1961. At the Brussels exhibition, they received a Grand Prix for their landmark Chambre d’un jeune homme.

Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq follow in the footsteps of the masters of U.A.M. Their furniture takes into account the materials and industrial solutions of their time, as much as the economy of means practiced by Jean Prouvé.

From their very first creations, they set out to establish an ethic. They turned away from the production of luxurious interiors and one-off pieces for wealthy customers. Instead, they developed mass production, without sacrificing quality. This approach, which went against the grain for its time, was initially laughed at. But Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq were not to be deterred from what they saw as their mission. Far from any spirit of lucre, they developed an uncompromising art in the service of harmony. This resolutely modern, ethical approach soon won the approval of a young clientele who wanted to furnish themselves with objects of their time, breaking away from period or period-style furnishings.

In the same spirit inspired by the U.A.M., they favored modern materials, glass, aluminum and Formica, from which they drew possibilities unheard of at the time (notably the thin bending of postformed Formica) and which they used in a way that was both noble and functional. They also invented the first chrome-plated or load-bearing glass bases, and didn’t hesitate to use precious wood veneers on lacquered metal tube bases.

Throughout their work, they aim to create furniture that combines comfort and functionality, in simple, elegant forms, remarkable for its stylistic purity and rejection of all decoration.

Their desks, in particular, combine absolute minimalism with bold materials. They are even more impressive for what seems to be the signature of Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq. The large sheets of glass that make up the legs and top give them a transparency, almost an immateriality, found in no other design of their time.

DL