Vincent Dubourg is a French artist born in 1977. Dubourg’s sculptural furniture makes contemporary allusions to traditional methods of cabinet making. This evokes a nostalgic sense of the familiar, which he simultaneously distorts with his fresh approach to materials and techniques.

Dubourg poetically fuses the crafts of glassblowing, wood-bending, and metal-casting to bring simple forms to life. In Napoleon A Trotinette, the solid form of a bureau is harmoniously combined with the graceful curves of bronze branches.

Dubourg’s designs introduce motion to stationary furniture. Vent Sur La Table whirls bronze and branches upwards as though freed from the constraints of gravity. Indeed, Dubourg offers a new perspective to furniture design, often subverting classic functional forms.

In Commode à Nouvelle Zélande, he flips a bar so that it rests on rows of up-turned glasses and bottles. Another piece in this series, Plancher à Nouvelle Zélande, sees shelves fly from the wall as if making an escape.

Dubourg’s conceptual twists add a surreal element to traditional craftsmanship, though he never relinquishes his devotion for the search of perfection.

Museum of Arts and Design, New York

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Musée de la Chasse et dela Nature, Paris