Gérard Mannoni

GERARD MANNONI (Bastia, 1928-Viry-Châtillon, 2020).
Coffee table, 1978.
Polished bronze structure and glass top.
Limited edition.
Exemplary 1/8.
Signed, dated and justified.
In good condition, with signs of use and light rubbing consistent with its age.
Measurements: 35 x 80 x 135 cm.

Sculptural table made by Gérard Mannoni in 1974, an unusual piece in which the domestic function is elevated to an artistic object. The rectangular glass top allows to fully contemplate the plastic power of the base, made in bronze and conceived as an abstract composition of great presence.

The base is constructed by means of geometric volumes, cut planes, open curves and interior voids that generate an intense play of masses and spatial tensions. The bronze, with polished surfaces and firmly defined edges, provides solidity, material richness and a marked sculptural dimension, in contrast to the visual lightness of the glass. Signed, dated and justified 1/8, the piece underlines its limited edition character and reinforces its uniqueness within the artist's production.

Gérard Mannoni was a French sculptor trained at the École des métiers d'art, the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, the Académie Julian and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He worked in the workshops of Marcel Gimond, Hubert Yencesse and Ossip Zadkine, and exhibited with figures such as André Bloc, Robert Jacobsen, Marino Di Teana and Claude Parent. His career includes the 1959 Paris Biennale, the 1970 Venice Biennale and the exhibition "Contemporary French Sculpture" presented in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico in 1973.