Whether it’s about interior, objects and furniture or graphic design, François Champsaur’s journey impresses both by its rigour as by its constance. 30 years after founding his agency, this Marseille born - trained at Paris’ Art Décoratifs - has indeed managed to impose his signature with both equal force and preciseness. An attention to details as well as to the global outcome, that granted him the realization of luxury hotels (Royal Evian, Hôtel Vernet in Paris, Maison Troisgros in Roanne, etc.), numerous private residences but also more unexpected places, even perilous, such as the prestigious Yearlings auction hall in Deauville… where he managed to create a space as spectacular as warmly welcoming.

If one should give a definition of the Champsaur style in terms of objects and furniture, it would without a doubt be that way of sculpting the material, giving every single time the impression that the piece - seating, lighting, table, mirror, and library - has been drawn to be self-sufficient and be admired from every side and every angle. The interaction between the material, the colour and the object’s function never is anecdotal. This equation is, on the contrary, the starting point to the reflection which will give birth to the object or the furniture piece. And it also naturally is the case with the VIC chair and stool, which generous proportions are like counterbalanced by this systematic choice of a monochromatic and faded shade (grey or black). Because if the chair must offer irreproachable comfort, it also must erase its presence to underline the table and let it shine. Some form of abnegation which naturally forces to stick to the essential: no armrest, an openwork backrest, legs and backrest in one section, and a shade unity between wood and leather for the seat. No useless gesture. No superfluous effect. A precise stroke for a well-balanced, timeless, piece, and evoking without hurling it, the aesthetics of a workshop chair.

AVENUE ROAD carries a curated assortment of François Champsaur pieces.

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