Galerie Meubles et Lumières is pleased to present the first retrospective dedicated to the work of French designer and interior architect Xavier Féal. It was under this pseudonym that, as a young graduate of the École Boulle and the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, he created a range of stainless steel furniture commissioned by the publisher Inox Industrie. This very limited production, marketed between 1969 and 1974, included seating, high and low tables, lighting, shelving elements, as well as decorative objects such as desk and fireplace accessories, and candlesticks.

From the outset, he turned to stainless steel, a material imperishable, unbreakable, and unalterable. Although invented in 1913, it only appeared in the French decorative arts landscape at the beginning of the 1960s. Embodying Parisian chic and a certain avant-garde spirit, stainless steel was adopted by leading designers of the period, such as Joseph-André Motte, Michel Boyer, and Maria Pergay. Major companies like Uginox, Kappa, and Inox Industrie made it accessible to a wider audience—indeed, it was the latter that manufactured Xavier Féal’s creations.

His training as an interior architect also led him to significant projects both in France and abroad, including the design of hotels, embassies, and private apartments. The Xavier Féal collection, with its radical lines, was produced in small series for a discerning clientele. With him, steel was bent into curves or sharp edges, playing with light depending on whether it was brushed or mirror-polished. Although perfectly emblematic of the 1970s, his creations still retain their modernity today.

From 1975 onward, Xavier Féal gradually moved away from the world of furniture and, under his deliberately undisclosed real name, began a brilliant career as an industrial designer in diverse fields, including precision mechanics. Nevertheless, his brief yet striking contribution to household design left a lasting mark on French decorative arts.