Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition of the work of French designer Vincent Dubourg, which opens on 19 April.Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition of the work of French designer Vincent Dubourg, which opens on 19 April.

Carpenters Workshop Gallery, owned by Loïc Le Gaillard and Julien Lombrail, is a relatively new gallery that specialises in collectible works by both established and emerging contemporary designers.

Dubourg's show, called Design Povera, runs until June 3.

Here is Carpenters Workshop Gallery's press release about the show and a biography of Dubourg:

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Vincent Dubourg: Design Povera. 19 April – 3 June 2007

The French designer, Vincent Dubourg, works between Paris and the small town, Creuse where his atelier is located. His solo exhibition, Design Povera, will be run at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery from 19 April – 3 June 2007.

Design Povera challenges all notions of contemporary furniture design by embracing a complete openness towards found and natural materials. His unique pieces evoke a sense of the familiar and defy all attempts of present day categorization.

Dubourg describes his pieces as a fusion of furniture, architecture and sculpture. They strike a careful balance between the practical and beautiful. He uses traditional furniture making techniques such as glass blowing, wood-bending, and metal casting as a means of transforming simple materials and found objects. His distinct style is at once nostalgic and avant-garde.

His educational background is as follows:

1) Three years studying applied arts at Corvisart, Paris
2) Three years studying industrial design at the school, Pivaut de Nantes
3) Two years studying furniture design at the School of Decorative Arts, Paris

His works have been included on the following exhibitions:

1) Salon du Meuble, Paris 2003
2) Salon di Mobile, Milan 2003
3) A commission for a colonial concept designed bedroom for the Princess of Morocco, 2003
4) 100% Design, gallery, Rotterdam 2004
5) Vitrine Gallery,2005

His commissions include:

1) A sculpture for Swarovski, Austria 2005
2) A sculpture/chandelier for Sketch, London based restaurant, 2005
3) A sculpture for the Musee de la Nature, Paris 2006

He has been featured in several prestigious European publications:

1) Elle, France. 26 January 2004
2) Elle, Italy. 2004
3) Expresse Mag, 17 May 2004
4) Maison Francaise, May, 2004
5) Elle, Italy, 2005
6) Connaisence Des Art, January, 2007
7) Figaro Scope, February 7, 2007
8) Le Point de Vue, February 7, 2007

Several pieces of Dubourg's furniture were featured in our METAL exhibition this past winter, and already his works have been sold to serious collectors of contemporary design. While he remains relatively unknown in the United Kingdom, Design Povera promises to showcase his continually evolving oeuvre influenced by the French countryside.

His Displis chair (above) is made a single sheet of stainless steel which he manually bends into this distinct form. The process is extraordinary in that he manually works the hard material into a shape which is reminiscent of folded or crumpled paper. Each edge or crease of the chair appears almost smooth but upon touch one is reminded of the hardness of the material, which is emphasized by crisp edges of the chair which expose the steel underneath.His Displis chair (above) is made a single sheet of stainless steel which he manually bends into this distinct form. The process is extraordinary in that he manually works the hard material into a shape which is reminiscent of folded or crumpled paper.

Each edge or crease of the chair appears almost smooth but upon touch one is reminded of the hardness of the material, which is emphasized by crisp edges of the chair which expose the steel underneath.

The chair comes in many different finishes and colours, and in a limited edition of twenty. He burns his signature into the steel. The edition is number marked by a nails which are inserted into a panel of holes on the lower inner fold of the chair.