Pere Cosp

PERE COSP (Barcelona, 1907-2007).
Large coffee table, 1960.
Solid mahogany wood and thick plywood.
Completely covered with parchment (original patina) except for the supports.
Three doors on the sides and a hinged door on the top for storage.
Polished brass hardware.
Measurements: 101 x 101 x 48 cm.

Innovation and avant-gardism come together in this splendid coffee table, designed by Pere Cosp around 1960. This square coffee table, with a mahogany structure covered with parchment emulating marble, is prototypical of Cosp's way of proceeding: he experimented with great boldness and deep knowledge of the materials, giving them surprising finishes. This is the case of parchment worked in such a way as to simulate marble marbling, and combining it with quality wood. The result is a consistent, functional piece of furniture with a subjugating aesthetic.

Pere Cosp was an interior designer and designer from Barcelona. With a mostly self-taught background, Pere Cosp redirected the family craft workshop towards interior design and integral decoration. The profession served him to give free rein to his creative talent, intentionally distanced from the fashions and trends of the time. Proof of that nonconformist and restless personality that defined him are the designs of his furniture, which still today retain an innovative and transgressive spirit. Cosp attended the Escuela de Artes y Bellos Oficios, as well as the perspective classes of Professor Arola. But more important for him was the practical part: entering the family workshop and living closely all the trades that were developed there: gilding, moldings and all kinds of restoration work. He also worked with the furniture maker Alonso and the decorator Parcerises. Pere Cosp was a pioneer in the use of materials that we could call humble, such as pine wood, chipboard, raffia, etc., which with his treatments and uses he elevated in category. He often collaborated with other trades: in the field of metal, he worked with Biosca y Botey and Pere Peronella. In this line of collaborations are his screen feet, wall sconces, outdoor furniture for gardens, an extensive collection of knobs and handles. The decoration of these elements or the final finishing was always done in the workshop. He carried out combinations of great beauty: stone, marble -Torra Passani was the main supplier- mosaic, in collaboration with Bru, glass, Granell, enamel, Morató, lacquers. In the course of his 50-year career, he transformed a hundred private homes into modern dwellings, often ahead of their time. His personal stamp impregnated every corner of the home: he distributed spaces, designed the furniture and decided even the smallest decorative detail.