Maria Pergay. Pair of lamps, ca. 1970. Unique pieces

MARIA PERGAY (Romania, 1930-France, 2023).
Pair of lamps, ca. 1970. Unique pieces.
Black lacquered resin decorated with asymmetrical golden and chromed metal rods.
In working order.
In good condition. Used, with slight marks of use.
Measurements: 71 x 7 x 7 x 7 cm; 108 cm (total height).

Of Russian parents but born in Romania, Maria Pergay emigrated to Paris in 1937, when she was only 7 years old. She was educated at the French Institute of Cinematographic Studies, where she studied dressmaking and scenography, during which time she also attended the academy of the Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine. Her artistic career began designing metal objects for the window of a Haute Couture store in Paris, which allowed her to make her way as a designer of objects for Hermès and Dior (for whom she designed letter openers, candlesticks, etc.). Known from that moment on as "Madamme Steel" because of her predilection for this material, Pergay received a proposal from Uginox, the leading French steel manufacturer, to fully immerse herself in the creation of objects made of this material. It is worth noting that when Maria Pergay started with her creations, the post-war French Modern Movement was in full swing, trying to make them due to the high level of consumerism in French society. Two of her first creations, the Ring Chair and the Flying Carpet, were first exhibited at the Parisian gallery Maison et Jardin. Today his work has influenced artists such as Salvador Dalí, Pierre Cardin, Givenchy and even Jordi Labanda. His work is kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the New York gallery Demisch Danant hosted his first retrospective in 2006. His installation Metamorphosis was exhibited at the Design 2013 Miami Fair.