Sublimating nature seems to have always been the creative leitmotif of famous Belgian designer Ado Chale whose retrospective exhibition takes place from 18 October to 16 November 2024 in the stables of the Hotel Solvay in Brussels. Now supported by his children, Ilona and Pierre, Chale is celebrating 65 years in the furniture business this year. The expo will feature both historic creations and never-before-seen pieces, testifying to both the wealth of his talent and the passing of the torch to the younger generation.
(c) gilles van den abeele
(c) gilles van den abeele
From his travels in France, Germany, Arizona, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Persia and Madagascar, Ado Chale (1928), this ‘lover of geology’, as the critic Hugues Vehenne described him, brought back mineral treasures that were the driving force behind his creative genius. Quartz, chalcedony, lapis lazuli, jade, turquoise, rhodochrosite, amethyst and all the other natural beauties worthy of illuminating his artist’s furniture are still at the heart of his tireless quest for these noble materials, which sublimate his famous tables and turn them into mineral gardens. In addition to these geological marvels, the artist’s raw riches that glorify semi-precious stones and which, without him, would have remained mere stones. He has also added cast bronze and cast aluminium, always polished and smoothed in the studio until they reveal the scars and imperfections that make them unique. The materials he uses are so fragile and so rare that they make each of his creations unique.
As his daughter Ilona, who is now in charge of continuing her father’s work and running the Atelier Ado Chale, explains: “Preferring solitude to schools, he created his follies and marvels by exploring his own land, by “scavenging nature”. His joyful discoveries gushed forth like a spring, from cliffs or beaches. This pure intuitive gave shape to his projects in symbiosis with the material”. It was in this raw, pure state that he conveyed his emotions. For example, he has given a banal object like a table an original treatment, transforming its top into a surface for composition. From the 1970s onwards, his quest for novelty and original materials naturally found an international following among collectors, and his work is still very much in vogue today, at a time when quality craftsmanship is extremely highly valued.
(c) gilles van den abeele
(c) gilles van den abeele
(c) gilles van den abeele
André Jacqmain (1921-2014), a leading figure in functionalist and Brutalist architecture in Belgium, with whom Ado Chale collaborated intensively from the 1960s onwards, aptly remarked: “His successes are the fruit of inventive passion and rigorous craftsmanship. A Chale table is an irrational universe whose forces have been created by sensitivity. Through the sensual organisation of the material we look at and touch, Chale distracts us from conversation”.
This retrospective expo will feature both historic creations and never-before-seen pieces, testifying to both the wealth of his talent and the passing of the torch to the younger generation, who are faithfully and respectfully carrying on the work of this visionary designer, who has become a great classic of furniture design.
In 2007, the designer associated himself with the architecture of another Belgian master, Victor Horta (1861-1947), when he took over the stables of the Hôtel Solvay, opposite his studio on rue Lens in Ixelles. A lover of stone and surrounded by many of Horta’s creations, he rediscovered the spirit dear to the architect, produced by the juxtaposition of ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ materials, in different textures and shapes.
This autumn, his children Ilona Chale and Pierre Barbion-Chale will be taking over this astonishing space with a retrospective tribute to their father’s talent. Showcasing old and historic tables, some rarely seen, with their famous cast-iron legs that are instantly recognisable, this exhibition celebrating 65 years of Ado Chale design will be enriched by never-before-seen pieces, created especially for the occasion by Pierre Chale, scrupulously respecting his father’s original drawings. Many of these drawings, dating from the 1960s, will be on show for the first time in the Hôtel Solvay stables, as will rarely-seen wall paintings and bas-reliefs in semi-precious stones.
Pierre Chale is now in charge of the design itself, as well as the artistic direction of the Atelier Ado Chale, working closely with his sister Ilona. He drew his inspiration from the impressive stock of materials assembled by his father. He has also been responsible for developing the production methods in line with the latest technical developments, while remaining scrupulously faithful to Ado Chale’s artistic approach. The exhibition will also be an opportunity to show the public what the Maison Ado Chale looks like today, thanks to the joint work of Ilona and Pierre, and their invaluable collaborators.
The author of the mosaics that adorn the Chale tables, Pierre insists on the meditative dimension involved in creating them, and on the long process that goes into the final result, in a scheme of precision and rigour that is faithful to his father’s artistic ideals: “It’s a bit like working on a written score, which remains original but can be interpreted in many different ways”.
While the iconic and historic pieces on display in the ‘museum’ section will not be for sale, the exhibition will also offer other pieces for purchase.
Ado Chale retrospective exhibition, from 18 October to 16 November 2024.
Location: Stables of the Hôtel Solvay, Brussels
More info: https://www.adochale.com/
