Metalworker Xavier Pauchard not only brought the art of galvanizing steel to France, but took the process to the next level by creating the Tolix Chair, also known as the Marais A Chair (1934), the quintessential cafe chair that was both elegant and robust enough to grace the decks of the S.S. Normandie ocean liner. It takes 100 manual operations to create an A Chair – no two are entirely the same – and the X-shaped reinforcement bar beneath the seat enables each chair to bear the designer’s initial. “Xavier Pauchard’s Chaise A is a perfect synthesis created by a man possessed of an understanding of raw materials – and the tools used to work them,” said Serge Lemoine, former director of Musee d’Orsay, Paris. All Tolix metal furniture is still made in Autun, the same Burgundy town where it all began. Slight surface abrasions and markings are characteristic of the material and part of its hardworking machine aesthetic. Rubber feet prevent damage to floors. The Marais Collection will stand up to the rigors of public use, but should be protected from wet weather conditions to maintain the finish.

Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 19 September, 2012

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