The theatrical chairs of Pierre Sala are back in the spotlight

Pierre Sala was an actor, director, dancer and set designer before he was a furniture maker, and you can tell. In the late 1970s he began working in a wood shop on the floor above his Paris theatre, and his chairs came out with the personality of characters on a stage.

His first pieces were simple lacquered kitchen chairs painted with bold graphics that recall maritime signal flags. Then came the Piranha, a red and white chair with a zigzag bite taken out of it. The French ministry of industry's VIA programme gave him free rein, and he answered with the Clairefontaine desk, which looks like a spiral-bound notebook standing on pencil legs. He showed his first collection in Cologne in 1983. Sadly, he died in 1989, aged just 41.

For years his work was known to few, but that's changing. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs included him in a 1980s show in 2022, and a 2024 monograph by Editions Hors Champ brought a new wave of collectors. Dealers in Paris, Brussels and Hyères now sell his pieces quickly; a 1983 Poisson Pilote chair is listed at €4,000. Designer Alex Eagle even bought one for the penthouse of the new St. Clement hotel at 180 The Thames.

It's a joyful story of a designer getting his due.

Our summary of a story from The Spaces, published 22 September 2026. Read the original

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