Mathieu Matégot
Hungarian-born French designer Mathieu Matégot was a defining pioneer of post-war European modernism. Bridging the worlds of sculpture, tapestry, and industrial craft, Matégot revolutionized mid-century interiors by transforming utilitarian sheet metal into an airy, fabric-like medium of delicate elegance. His groundbreaking breakthrough was Rigitulle—a patented material fusing perforated metal with slender steel tubing that could be bent and folded like paper. Through this technique, Matégot brought weightless transparency and dancing patterns of light and shadow to domestic objects. Celebrated designs such as the sculptural Nagasaki Chair, the organic Copacabana lounge, and his iconic perforated bowls and coat racks (faithfully reissued by GUBI) capture his joyful spirit and fluid geometry. Matégot turned rigid steel into poetic, lace-like art, creating buoyant mid-century icons that remain timeless.
