Adrien Audoux and Frida Minnet

ADRIEN AUDOUX & FRIDA MINNET (France).
In the style of CHARLES DUDOUYT (1885-1946).
Nautical bar furniture, ca. 1940s.
Oak wood, glass, rope.
Measurements: 158 x 100 x 44 cm.

The nautical theme was a favorite of the French-Swiss couple Adrien Audoux and Frida Minnet, who spent much of their time in the Provence region, and their lighting and furnishings were inspired by marine and coastal life. Specifically, this nautical bar cabinet is inspired by furniture by French craftsman Charles Dudouyt. The decorative handles on the front take the form of ship's rudders. One of them features the representation of a compass rose. The upper module has an interior decorated with mirrors, and is intended for glasses and bottles. The lower storage space is more sober and is finished with red fabric. The cabinet rests on a pedestal covered with rope.

Audoux and Minet worked on the Côte d'Azur (France). They are believed to have established a workshop there in the late 1920s. The designers were members of the Union Des Artistes Modernes, a collective of like-minded artists founded in 1929. The Union's raison d'être was to design home furnishings and decorative pieces for a wider public, not just affluent Parisians, a type of buyer targeted by many creators of the time. They promoted simplicity and prioritized functionalism. The collective counted among its members other celebrated furniture designers, such as Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Francis Jourdain and Louis Sognot. Rejecting the lavishness of Art Deco and the concept that seating, tables and other furniture should be made of luxurious and exotic materials, Minet and Audoux adopted a rustic style in their work, integrating abaca hemp rope and other organic materials such as beech and bamboo into their provocative designs. Several of Audoux and Minet's seating pieces are on display at the Maison Dumas site in Saint Tropez (France).

Charles Dudouyt (1885-1946) was a French artist and furniture designer. Dudouyt completed his art studies at the École Germain Pilon in Paris, now known as the École des Arts Appliqués (ENSAAMA). One of his legacies was the modernization of the traditional French rustic style of furniture. He also made quality designer furniture more accessible to the common people, which is why he is highly regarded as an interwar and postwar designer. He collaborated with other artists, such as the French sculptor Jean René Debarre.