Photos By Gail

The frame of André Dubreuil’s Spine Chair (1986) is constructed from five steel rods, each shaped by hand in a vice or jig and joined with visible welds. Lengths of flattened iron tubing — purchased flat and then formed in the workshop — are openly attached to the frame, with the marks of manufacture intentionally displayed rather than concealed. This emphasis on process reflects Dubreuil’s rejection of modernist ideals of seamless perfection in favor of material honesty and expressive construction.

Often described as a contemporary heir to the tradition of French Art Deco ironwork, Dubreuil deliberately resists the refinement associated with that legacy. Instead, the Spine Chair foregrounds the hand of the maker, aligning it with late-20th-century studio craft rather than industrial design. The chair’s vertical back evokes a skeletal spine, lending the piece an almost anthropomorphic presence and introducing a subtle tension between strength and fragility.

Both functional and sculptural, the Spine Chair occupies the space between furniture and art. By exposing its structure, welds, and material origins, Dubreuil transforms utilitarian steel into a poetic, postmodern object — one that embraces imperfection as an aesthetic choice and asserts craftsmanship as a central expressive force.

Photographed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London