Christian Duc

Although his name has less resonance than those of Philippe Starck, Jean-Michel Wilmotte or Martin Szekely, Duc was a central figure in the French 1980s. Drawing on his Asian origins and his passion for the Bauhaus, he designed furniture with strong historical and symbolic roots, while embracing his times. The OVNIfruitbowl and the Orwell lamp cleverly take up the shape of the "Chinese" hat, one forming the reflector and the other the receptacle. He was one of the first to reissue Bauhaus furniture, back in the late 70s, through the Duc et Camroux store in the Halles district in Paris. It's no coincidence that the Orwell lamp takes on certain features of the iconic Wagenfeld lamp. As with the modern movement, Duc's logic was not to produce limited series or exclusivity. However, the furniture he designed and distributed from 1983 onwards via his company CMB was made in very small quantities, as it was aimed at a highly specialized clientele. Christian Duc also indulged in collaborations with prestigious companies such as the Delisle workshops, then in search of modernity, for whom he designed the Archéologie Future collection in 1987. At the end of the 1990s, he returned to Vietnam, where he developed a passion for local craftsmanship, creating furniture that straddled the line between modernity and craftsmanship, using eggshell and woven materials in particular.

 

After being somewhat forgotten, Christian Duc is back in the spotlight as an ambassador of the French 80s style.