Pierre Chapo Oak Coffee Table T22C L’oeil, Craftsmanship, France, 1972

This eye-shaped coffee table, known as model T22C ‘L’oeil’, was created by French designer Pierre Chapo in 1972. It’s a coffee table made of solid oak that can be used as either one table or as two boomerang-shaped tables. This cocktail table features a thick top with natural veining and six cylindrical feet. The joints visible on the edge of the tabletop are typical of the creations of master woodworker Pierre Chapo. The design is characterised by its simplicity, purified appearance and harmony of lines. It’s a well-proportioned piece that offers space to display books, art and other curiosities. The dynamic construction gives it a playful, striking, and functional expression. Chapo’s great eye for detail and his exquisite craftsmanship are both visible in this design.

Pierre Chapo (1927-1987) was born in a family of craftsmen and trained as an architect at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Already from a young age, he felt the need to roam the world. He was only 21 when he left France to spend the next few years travelling through England and Scandinavia. In December of 1951, he was living back in Paris, where he met his future wife, Nicole. Their meeting was the beginning of a lifelong union. Together, the lovebirds travelling through South and North America is captivated by the architectural diversity. Back in France, he and his partner Nicole set up Société Chapo in 1957. Société Chapo was a design workshop and gallery in one where he showed his own creations. However, Nicole also presented her ceramics, and textiles here, and they even exhibited other great designers of that period. In 1958, they opened their famous gallery at 14 Boulevard de l’Hopital. Chapo’s work originated by means of special commissions that could later be adapted to universal needs. Throughout his career, Chapo combined his interest in contemporary design with his love for traditional craftsmanship. In his designs, he was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s balanced lines, Corbusier’s research on proportions and the ideas of Bauhaus. The three principles that motivated Pierre Chapo were ‘material, form, and function.’ He measured his furniture using the golden ratio and used elmwood as his preferred material. Unfortunately, Chapo fell ill, and he died in 1987, however, until his last day, he kept on designing and working.

Check out our Goldwood storefront for more Pierre Chapo design pieces.