Rare Large Brushed Aluminum Table Lamp By Pierre Vandel (1946)

This large, brushed aluminum, Space Age style table lamp by Pierre Vandel is part of the works Vandel created at the very beginning of his career as a designer and is usually dated to 1971-1972, a period during which he developed aluminum tables, lamps, and armchairs, including the famous Vertèbre armchair, which were produced in limited editions.

It was only after his collaboration with Marais International that his production became prolific and therefore less desirable. Original pieces by Pierre Vandel from this period are eminently rare and collectable.

This lamp comes from a set including a large mirror and a dining table, all in brushed aluminum, acquired by a couple from Cannes for their wedding in 1972. The lamp is of great simplicity and elegance, with the electrical wire passing inside the structure and allowing for incredible lightness.

The aluminum base hides a cast iron weight to ensure great stability despite the asymmetrical nature of the design. The whole is made of brushed aluminum, a very innovative material in the early 1970s. In very good condition, with slight signs of use on the base. The electrification is original and has been revised. A detailed certificate will be given to the buyer.

Dimensions: height 53 cm, base diameter 21 cm.

Pierre Vandel was born in 1946 in the suburbs of Lille, France. He is best known for his angular tables, which evoke the glamorous yet minimalist aesthetic that dominated furniture and lighting design in France in the 1970s. Pierre Vandel trained professionally in assembly and industrial design before joining a research team at the École nationale des ponts et chaussées and the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers in Paris.

Interested in technological innovation and different types of product development, Pierre Vandel experimented with a vertical aquarium and hi-fi systems before devoting himself to the already well-established field of table, chair, and lighting design. In 1969, the company Marais International placed an order to distribute 5,000 copies of the designer's relatively unknown work.

Yet it was his encounter and friendship with iconic fashion designer Pierre Cardin (born 1922) that would prove to be the turning point in Pierre Vandel's design career and bring him international success. Cardin supported Pierre Vandel's efforts by encouraging him to create his own brand, Pierre Vandel - Paris, and then by introducing him to high society, which purchased Pierre Vandel's creations.

Pierre Vandel's designs—which included dining tables, desks, and coffee tables, composed of aluminum, lacquered wood, or Plexiglas frames with brass details and smoked or clear glass tabletops—were exported to clients in New York, London, Melbourne, and Tokyo.

His Vertebra chair (1972), named after its aluminum frame resembling a spine, was upholstered in thick brown or black leather. Produced for four short years, only 800 chairs in total would be made—half with armrests and half without. The Vertebra chair allowed Pierre Vandel to build a reputation as an avant-garde and innovative designer in the design community, but the history of this rare chair was slightly overshadowed by Pierre Vandel's "Hollywood Regency" models, which were more accessible in style and produced in larger numbers.

Now in his seventies, Pierre Vandel continues to design new products in his workshop in Croix, close to his birth place.