Buying, selling, expertise or advice: DIZAGN supports collectors and lovers of historic French post-war design.
Thibault Lannuzel: Passion for design
Thibault Lannuzel, doctor of art history, graduated from the Sorbonne in 2016 and gave his dissertation the title “Generation Useful Forms” based on the historical and aesthetic study of a group of designers on the so-called “growth period” (1945-1973). In parallel to his studies, Thibault Lannuzel worked for the auction house Sotheby’s in 2008, before collaborating with the dealer Pascal Cuisinier, first at Puces de Saint-Ouen, then at Rue de Seine, to defend historic French design. After participating in exhibitions around the world, Thibault Lannuzel founded his own collector-focused buying, selling, brokerage and consulting business following his doctorate. He also joins the Chamber of Experts CEA (Compagnie d’Expertise en Antiquités et Objets d’Art), of which he has been a member since 2017. From now on, he divides his time between his online gallery DIZAGN (which means “design” in Breton, with respect to its origins) and the first French auction house Artcurial, for which he works as a consultant in the Art Deco/Design department, his specialty. He is considered a true expert in the field and collaborates with institutions and private galleries by developing monographic/thematic publications on the subject.
French design from the post-war period to the first oil crisis
At the end of the Second World War, young designers born in the late 1920s worked with the largest manufacturers of furniture, seats and lighting, but also on public projects in collaboration with architects: train stations, museums, community centers. Culture, etc. They work alone or in pairs and have set themselves the social mission of creating a design for everyone that is accessible, functional and aesthetic. This is then the beginning of mass production, in which the designer imagines the object on plans before the manufacturer realizes the prototype and begins production. Ultimately, the arrival of design marks the separation of design and creation of the object. This era also saw the emergence of plywood, aluminum, plastic and laminate techniques. Even today, the objects are still highly functional; they are living art that designers such as Jean Prouvé, Pierre Guariche, Alain Richard, Olivier Mourgue and Pierre Paulin, among others, left behind. This long-unknown generation of designers from the 1950s to 1980s is now experiencing increasing interest among art collectors.
Buy, sell or have your French design heritage valued
DIZAGN has become the reference site for French design collectors, going beyond the pure “growth period” and focusing on the 1980s/1990s, for example with the work of designers such as Philippe Starck, Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Nemo. A true object hunter, Thibault Lannuzel presents on his website his catalog of objects for sale, but also offers the possibility of appraising the goods from private individuals – especially in the case of inheritance – and from art dealers who want to value their works. He loves unearthing rare pieces for his collector clientele: custom-made pieces, unique pieces or prestigious provenance. The passionate Thibault Lannuzel continues his search for unattainable objects (on behalf of his website DIZAGN) and is determined to rediscover post-war French design. He soon plans to share his passion and knowledge through teaching.