Line Vautrin, ‘Soleil à Pointes’ mirror, model no. 3, circa 1960. Design London.
Lucie Rie’s unique glazes
Lucie Rie, Footed bowl, circa 1978. Design London.
For Lucie Rie (1902–1995), the traditionally decorative practice of glazing was intertwined with the act of making itself. She developed her own glazing recipes and techniques, which were applied with a large brush to dry vessels before firing. These complex glazes beautifully complement the forms of her pieces.
Left: Lucie Rie, Vase with flaring lip, 1988. Right: Lucie Rie,Vase, 1988. Design London.
Her imaginative white and light-toned glazes are some of her most impressive technical achievements, highly sought after by collectors for their extraordinary surface, tone, and texture. Rie’s dark glazes are also highly prized owing to their distinctive colour — reminiscent of coffee beans — which is achieved by mixing pure manganese dioxide with gum before firing at high temperatures. The flair of her singular technique is on display in her pitted glazes — the result of brushing particularly viscous glazes on oxide-stained clays. These glazes form bubbles that survive the firing process, imparting subtle colours and rich textures.
Left: Lucie Rie, Vase with flaring lip, circa 1974. Right: Lucie Rie, Conical bowl, circa 1962. Design London.
Line Vautrin’s Talosel resin
Left: Line Vautrin, Rare mirror, circa 1965. Right: Line Vautrin, Rare table lamp, circa 1965. Design London.
The work of French designer Line Vautrin (1913–1997) embodies a certain kind of midcentury Parisian elegance, and her Talosel resin mirrors have captivated design enthusiasts and collectors for decades. Talosel resin, which Vautrin developed in the 1950s, is comprised of layers of cellulose that the designer hand-worked and finished with a layer of coloured mirrored glass. This revolutionary and versatile material allows for Vautrin’s intricate, bold, and textured designs that are both lightweight and durable. Beyond the sheer inventiveness, there’s a playful curiosity to these works that is as evocative as it is inspiring.
Gabriella Crespi’s Escapism
Gabriella Crespi, ‘Ippopotamo con piccolo’, circa 1973. Design London.
The 1970s saw major cultural shifts as people sought ways to escape the pressures of modern life. The work of Italian architect and designer Gabriella Crespi (1922–2017) reflected this desire by drawing inspiration from nature, mythology, and surrealism. Her sculptural designs often featured organic, fluid shapes that moved away from the rigid geometric forms of earlier modernism.
Judy Kensley McKie’s experimental woodwork
Judy Kensley McKie, ‘Leopard Couch’, 1983. Design London.
Visionary American designer Judy Kensley McKie (b. 1944) is lauded for her experimental and labor-intensive approach to woodworking. Her pieces are very rare — she often produces only seven or eight per year — and transcend their functional nature, showcasing how beauty and functionality can coexist harmoniously. The above ‘Leopard Couch’ perfectly embodies the designer’s meticulous approach, crafted of mortise-and-tenon joinery, bent-lamination, and carving. It also represents her first experiments in bleaching mahogany, for which she would become well known. As she recalled in an article for the journal Fine Woodworking, “I had to repeat the process three times before I got good results. What finally worked was doing the job outdoors, in bright sunlight. Then I burned in the spots with a propane torch, another adventure. I’m always feeling my way as I go.”
Suzanne Ramié’s mix of old and new
Suzanne Ramié, Vase, circa 1955. Design London.
Though the French ceramist Suzanne Ramié (1905–1974) is perhaps best known for founding the Madoura Pottery studio in Vallauris with her husband Georges — and their subsequent collaborations with Pablo Picasso — she was a formidable maker in her own right. Ramié viewed her ceramic works as a natural extension of her explorations into drawing and painting. Her skilled drafting background led her to create imaginative forms that challenged the traditional figures and techniques prevalent in Vallauris at the time. In her ceramics, she explored clean, pure lines which were accentuated by vibrant and colourful glazed enamel.
Claude Lalanne’s nature-inspired designs
Claude Lalanne, Tray, circa 1983. Design London.
Along with her husband François-Xavier, the French sculptor and designer Claude Lalanne (1925–2019) needs no introduction. She drew much of her inspiration from nature and was particularly fascinated with flora and fauna, notably seen in the gilt bronze ornamentation on the above tray. Her interest in nature was as symbolic as it was literal, perhaps most clearly seen in her use of bamboo. Lalanne celebrated bamboo’s delicate but strong structure, transforming it into sculptural furniture and art pieces in a reflection of her ability to elevate natural materials, blurring the lines between art and nature, form and function.
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