Clown table by Philippe Starck for Driade, 1988

DESIGNER : Philippe Starck

Producer : Driade

The Clown pedestal table was designed by Philippe Starck for Driade in 1988. Indeed, it takes part of folding furniture with the Mrs Frick and Mickville folding chairs, leaving a new shape after folding. Starck's interest in folding furniture may have begun with his first collection in 1967 "Crisis Furniture" for small spaces and the less fortunate. There are multiple versions with lacquered finishes of various colors.

The pedestal table has a round plate decorated with a clown face recognizable by its smile, its nose and its big eyebrows. Here, there is certainly a form of representation which could link this model to an object of art even to a true sculpture. There remains an obvious practical but also aesthetic aspect. The tray folds vertically, probably in order to facilitate storage. Moreover, once folded, it reveals a second face. The base consists of a baluster shaft resting on a black truncated cone base.