Mid-Century-Style Sideboard

Mid-Century Style Sideboard
Partially veneered wood, with top and doors clad in Murano glass.
Double-door front with interior shelf.
Decor inspired by *Le Retour de Tahiti 18* by Philippe Hiquily (Paris, 1925–Villejuif, 2013).
Measurements: 96 x 140 x 41 cm.

The uniqueness of this sideboard lies in the design of its front, conceived as an artistic composition fully integrated into the furniture’s architecture. The two doors feature a design of large organic and anthropomorphic forms based on “Le Retour de Tahiti 18,” a work created by Philippe Hiquily in 2008. The figure’s extreme stylization, sinuous contours, and the balance between dark surfaces and light backgrounds bring the biomorphic and surrealist-rooted language characteristic of the French artist into the realm of furniture design.

The construction using flat, cut-out silhouettes also introduces a purely formal affinity with Henri Matisse’s famous papiers découpés, particularly through the reduction of the figure to essential contours and the autonomous prominence of the forms. This economy of visual means reinforces the graphic character of the front and allows the design to be read as a unified composition despite being divided by the central opening of the doors.

The Murano glass cladding plays an essential role in the overall finish, bringing luminosity to the surfaces and accentuating the contrast with the warmth of the wood. The curved sides, the stepped base, and the refined volumes give the sideboard a striking architectural presence, while the integration of a large-scale figurative composition on the front places the piece in a space between functional furniture, design, and an artistic object.