Ingrid Donat

Barry Friedman Ltd., New York

Acquired from the above in 2008 by the present owner

Anne Bony, Ingrid Donat, Paris 2016, pp. 234-237 (for the model)

Swedish-French designer Ingrid Donat draws inspiration from African art, Art Deco and Art Nouveau, tribal tattoos, and modern painters such as Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. She brings a painterly approach to the surfaces of her bronze furniture, resulting in a distinctive and refined elegance. When Donat relocated to Paris to attend the École des Beaux-Arts in 1975 to study sculpture, she found herself in the circle of artists including Sylva Bernt and Diego Giacometti, who influenced her to experiment with the weighty medium of bronze. Working on this surface, Donat etches several motifs of overlapping and wavering lines, squares, rings, and circles that oscillate between chic modern patterning and traditional decorative designs. Born from this creative approach to design and craftsmanship, Commode Primitive epitomizes Donat’s sincere dedication to the power of art and design: “My approach is about imbuing bronze with warmth and vitality by using scarification techniques and visual motifs inspired by the high art of cultures and communities with which I come into contact.” The longer one spends time in the company of works such as Commode Primitive, the more it draws our gaze to its beautiful contours and edges. As Donat herself has said: “When you come into a room, I don’t want my furniture flashing in your eye. I want it to be discreet. When you come closer, you can see the details.”