New Springs

Histoires De Carres > Automne-Hiver 2009

In 1974, Philippe Ledoux, with his carre Springs - in a classical construction and with great attention to details - composed a scene of little caleches dating from the beginning of the nineteenth century all mounted on metallic suspension and includeing the perambulator of the "Eaglet", the son of Napoleon I. Now some 35 years later, it's the designer's very own great-nephew who does the retake. Avoiding realism and leaning forwards the abstract with flattened colours and rapid strokes, he gives the picture an unexpected tension and modernity. The different rounded elements - the wheels, suspension, and the curved outline of the caleches - are organised into a visual game, like the circle of a kaleidoscope.