JEAN DUNAND - 'HOMMAGE AU CUBISME'

Jean Dunand was a master of modern material intelligence, moving effortlessly between metal, lacquer, and architecture at the height of the Art Deco era. Trained in Geneva and established in Paris, he first distinguished himself through dinanderie, the hammering of copper and brass into sculptural form, before transforming his practice through the study of Japanese urushi lacquer with Seizo Sugawara around 1912. From that encounter emerged a singular language, where hammered structure met liquid depth, and surface became a site of meditation rather than ornament. Collaborating with figures such as Ruhlmann and contributing to landmark interiors like the 1925 Exposition and the Normandie, Dunand forged works that embody modern precision without sacrificing mystery, objects where repetition, rigor, and patience turn craftsmanship into quiet philosophy.