The French modernist sculptor, Philippe Hiquily, worked for a full decade creating abstract figurative sculpture before turning his attention in 1960 to making furniture from his favorite sculptural material: metal. Interestingly, the shift followed closely on the heels of a major honor which cemented his artistic prominence: in 1959 he won the prestigious Critic's Prize for sculpture at the Paris Biennial. ?

Although in the abstract, the concept of designing chairs and desks and tables would appear to be a radical departure from the creation of non-utilitarian sculpture, it was not--in Hiquily's case. His furniture is an extension of his work in sculpture. In fact, Hiquily's choice to create furniture in an ambitious way ended up in...