Coffee Table, Manner of Ado Chale

Artist/Designer: Gene Summers (American, 1926-2011); Walla Walla Foundry (USA) Marking(s); notes: signed, marking(s); ed. 1/9; 2007 Country of origin; materials: USA; cast bronze, si...

Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Poul Kjaerholm (Danish, 1929-1980), manner of; unknown Marking(s); notes: no marking(s) apparent Materials: chromed metal, leather Dimensions (H, W, D)...

Ado Chale ‘‘Pastilles’’ illuminated coffee table, 1983 Mosaic of cornaline agate stones and resin H. 35 x 150ø cm Son of a woodworker, Ado Chale spent his formative years in the Belgian countryside and began working with metal at a young age, training initially as an iron-worker. In the 1950s, he began working with sheet metal on which he would test various methods of printing with enamel. However, it was on a trip to Germany that he found his true passion: mineralogy. Stones, precious and semi-precious as well as fossils and other natural minerals, became the focal point of his self-taught artistic path. In 1961, Chale opened a mineral shop in Brussels where he showed his first creations featuring inclusions of marcasite, a dark stone he discovered on the beaches of the Cape of Blanc- Nez in northern France. By 1965, these creations had garnered significant attention and he began to widen the range of his creations. He began working with a great variety of stones and fossilized wood and developing new techniques, one of the most remarkable of which is featured in the ‘‘Pastilles’’ coffee table: the integration of light. Noticing the transformation of certain stones when lit from a certain angle, Chale aimed to demonstrate the delicate details that remained hidden without this illumination. With this objective in mind, he began integrating lighting systems beneath the mosaic tops of his coffee tables, a rare technique of which Chale was a true pioneer. Beyond the striking effect achieved through the illumination of his tables, Chale’s mastery in mosaic resulted in truly unique tabletops - no two mosaics exactly the same. Over the years, Chale’s creations found their way into some of the world’s most prestigious collections, both private and public, including those of the British royal family, the King of Saudi Arabia, Belgium’s King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola, and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of Ado Chale’s creation, an occasion celebrated with a landmark exhibition at the Galerie Yves Gastou.

A "Goutte D’eau", aluminum and black metal coffee table designed and produced by Ado Chale, Brussels, Belgium, 1970s.