The Taste of Nestor Pekal
Architect, designer, scenographer and gallery owner, a key figure in 1980s design, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Bordeaux is devoting an exhibition to him and a monograph is devoted to him and Norma editions publishes a monograph" Nestor Perkal".
by Elisabeth Védrenne
©estheteplace
Nestor is a solar creator, and his discretion hides a great passion, an affective, an unbridled creator, a workaholic. From his distant Argentina, he brings back a definitive taste for traditional materials and know-how as well as colors. The fragrant leather of its benches, carpets and other seats mixing sheepskin (Oscarmaschera) undoubtedly comes from the "caballito blanco" who enchanted his childhood with his marvelous saddles.
Tangram table by Massimo Morozzi, centerpiece by Ronan Bouroullec, Filicudi table de Sottsass associates, chairs by Nestor Perkal, "de collectionneurs" furniture designed by Nestor Perkal, on the wall photographs by Ingar Krauss, Robert Mapplethorpe, David Douard… and embroidered works by Chiachio & Gianone
Vases by Ettore Sottsass; photographs by Denis Darzac, Dino Dinco and Ronald Gerber
And the Immigrant that he is doubly, through his Polish Jewish grandparents who settled in South America, gives him a taste for a quest for identity, hence his pretty multicolored mirrors. And the attraction to home, shelter, security. Admittedly, the architect finds himself in his own very structured objects, but it is the passenger compartments in the interiors that attract this nomad. He can just as easily make an arbor out of chestnut logs made by craftsmen from Limousin for the gardens of Chaumont-sur-Loire as he can design bed enclosures. A feeling that makes him dare to mix things up, the poor and the rich, the raw and the refined. Expert in scenography but also crazy about travels, he brings back many ideas and nuggets. The gold of the Buddhas of Burma, the silver of Mexico where he often goes and where his sumptuous jewels chiseled with golden amber come from.
in the entrance carpet and “Chaise Longue Barroca” by Javier Mariscal; “Vaca colgada” mirror and Nestor Perkal design chandelier
on a “caballito Blanco” table/seat designed by Nestor Perkal for Oscarmaschera, pieces by Tony Craag and Hibino. Feltri armchair by Gaetano Pesce, Kristall table by Michele De Lucchi; photo by Berard Faucon
The Italy of the 80s made him the first discoverer and importer of Memphis in Paris in 1982. Nestor is a bulimic curiosity crossbred with a keen taste for discovery. Generous, friendly, inventive, he likes to introduce others. Whether in his gallery in the Marais where for 10 years he exhibited Pierre Charpin as well as Enzo Mari or his great friend Nathalie Du Pasquier, or as artistic director of Algorithme by inviting young designers, Sylvain Dubuisson, Éric Jourdan, etc. . …. Or when he directs the CRAFT, Research Center on Fire and Earth in Limoges where, from 1994 to 2009, he works with Ron Arad as well as great artists like Javier Perez, Vim Delvoye, among others.
ceramics, Nathalie du Pasquier
drawing by Larco and Mexican objects
His very sure taste for contemporary art has made him a great photo collector. It seems that the first name Nestor means Traveler and no doubt Nestor Perkal was predestined to shake up conventions. But above all, what would the soul of design be for fifty years without it?
library and collection of contemporary art photos
terracotta bust, Photograph by Ettore Sottsass, vase by Jean-Philippe Aubanel
Mirror made at CIRVA in Marseille design Nestor Perkal; at the back vases by Alesandro Mendini, Ron Arad, Weiki Somers …
Nestor Perkal - Architect, Scenographer, Designer
Author Jeanne Quéheillard
Graphic design Carole Daprey
Editorial coordination Maïté Hudry and Matthieu Flory
Already on sale at MADD Bordeaux, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design during the Nestor Perkal exhibition from October 6 to January 8, 2023 and at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris from October 12
It will be available in bookstores from November 4th
Exhibition at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Bordeaux:
Nestor Perkal - Des années 80 à aujourd’hui, une figure clé de la culture du design en France
from 06.10.2022 to 08.01.2023