An iconic and early ‘Table Blanche’ designed by Ann Demeulemeester for Belgian furniture manufacturer Bulo in 1996, created as part of Bulo’s experimental Carte Blanche collection. Demeulemeester reduced the table to its most elementary form: a simple rectangular structure entirely covered in white painter’s canvas. The textile is stretched across the tabletop, apron and legs and secured with visible tacks, turning the entire piece into a three-dimensional blank canvas. The choice of material is central to the design. Rather than protecting the pristine white surface, Demeulemeester intended it to record the traces of everyday life. The canvas can be drawn or painted upon and, when desired, covered again with primer to create a new white surface — much like a painter repeatedly reusing a canvas. Its restrained proportions and almost archetypal construction give the table a quiet architectural quality, while the exposed rows of tacks reveal how the textile has been applied. The contrast between an ordinary working table and the delicacy of white artist’s canvas makes Table Blanche an important crossover between fashion, furniture and conceptual design.

Measurements:

H 79.5 x W 130 x D 75 cm