THE INTERIORS AUCTION - deVeres Art Auctions

147 A PAiR oF PHiLiPPe StARcK ‘coSteS’ cHAiRS, 1984,
the curved plywood backs, on tubular steel legs, with black
leather seats.
Provenance: Made for the cafe costes in 1984, Rue Saint
Honore, Paris.
Philippe Starck (born 1949) is one of the world’s most famous
designers. He made his name as an interior and product
designer with his work on the trendy café costes in Paris
(1984), his Juicy Salif lemon squeezer for Alessi (1990) and
his transparent Louis Ghost chair (2002). Philippe Starck’s
breakthrough came in 1982 when then President Francois
Mitterrand asked him to redesign the private apartments of the
Elysée Palace (the French president’s official private residence).
He followed it two years later with the interior design of the
café costes, followed by the Royalton and Paramount hotels in
new York, the Delano in Miami and the Mondrian in Los Angeles.
the unique costes chair is one of Starck’s most recognized
classics. the practical reason behind the three-legged construction
of the costes chair was to ease waiter’s movement while
working in the café. the padded cushion creates comfortable
seating, while the curved backrest and tripod base create the
artistic visual profile of the chair and its fashionable appeal.
café costes closed its doors in 1994 and these are the chairs
that made it famous.
est. €1,000 – 2,000
148 A cHRoMe AnD SMoKeD GLASS
coFFee tABLe, BY wiLLY RiZZo,
c.1970, 113cm x 65cm.
willy Rizzo started his career in Paris
as a photographer. His original venture
into furniture design began in Rome
and took place during a visit to a Roman
hair salon on Piazza di Spagna in 1966.
He ended up signing a six month
lease on an abandoned commercial
apartment, barely habitable and without
running water. Rizzo quickly set about
turning the empty office into a living
space, complete with brown and gold
walls and custom-designed sofas, coffee
tables, consoles and hi-fi storage
units. using a small group of local
artisans he completed the customised
apartment, which acted as a template of
sorts for the majority of his commissions
to come.
Rizzo’s friends, clients and contacts, many forming the upper crust of the fashion and film industries fell in love his ultra-modern
style which incorporated the sophistication of Mies van der Rohe and Le corbusier, combining clean, simple lines with bold
geometric forms and a delicate handling of materials. Salvador Dali commissioned a number of pieces as did Brigitte Bardot for the
interior of La Madrague in St. tropez. A playboy of the era, Rizzo’s client list is testament to how popular his furniture was at that time.
He established a base at tivoli, just outside Rome and went on to open boutiques across France and europe. He also had points
of sale in new York, Miami and LA.
est. €600 – 900
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