Founded by Xavier Pauchard in Burgundy in 1927, Tolix became synonymous with French industrial furniture, producing galvanised steel pieces that were designed to withstand constant use. Many survive stripped back to bare metal or refinished in a single colour. This example has escaped both. Instead, its successive layers remain intact, giving the surface a painterly quality that could never be recreated.
Originally intended for cafés or workshops, this steel pedestal table has long since outgrown its purely functional origins. Decades of repainting have transformed an otherwise austere industrial object into something unexpectedly expressive.
Its surface is built from successive layers of charcoal, chalk white, pale blue and soft green, each partially revealed as the paint has chipped and worn away. The paint stratigraphy reads almost like a geological section, preserving the traces of the environments it has occupied.
The folded steel top, square pedestal and weighted base retain the clarity of the original design, while the finish records nearly a century of use. It is as much a document of its working life as it is a piece of furniture.
Height: 74 cm
Dimensions: 60 × 60 cm
Collection from Brixton, London or arranged delivery.
Founded by Xavier Pauchard in Burgundy in 1927, Tolix became synonymous with French industrial furniture, producing galvanised steel pieces that were designed to withstand constant use. Many survive stripped back to bare metal or refinished in a single colour. This example has escaped both. Instead, its successive layers remain intact, giving the surface a painterly quality that could never be recreated.
Originally intended for cafés or workshops, this steel pedestal table has long since outgrown its purely functional origins. Decades of repainting have transformed an otherwise austere industrial object into something unexpectedly expressive.
Its surface is built from successive layers of charcoal, chalk white, pale blue and soft green, each partially revealed as the paint has chipped and worn away. The paint stratigraphy reads almost like a geological section, preserving the traces of the environments it has occupied.
The folded steel top, square pedestal and weighted base retain the clarity of the original design, while the finish records nearly a century of use. It is as much a document of its working life as it is a piece of furniture.
Height: 74 cm
Dimensions: 60 × 60 cm
Collection from Brixton, London or arranged delivery.
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