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Heritage

Rinck: A Century of Major Art Salons in Paris

For over a century, art and interior design fairs have served as vital venues for ensembliers décorateurs, providing incomparable showcases for displaying their style and savoir-faire. These major events – bringing together designers, creators, artisans, and artists, recognizing talent and setting the trends of each era – have shaped the very history of design and furnishings.

Rinck has ensured that the company’s name has been on the pages of this history through the decades by introducing furniture collections that demonstrate its excellent craftsmanship and esthetic vision. From the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs to Art Paris 2025, at major world exhibitions and international trade fairs, the company has unfailingly captured the spirit of the times while leaving a precious legacy and nurturing an inestimable heritage.

Since the Grand Palais was built in 1897, it has hosted a vast spectrum of cultural events, exhibitions, and fairs at which each person could stroll through the aisles beneath the structure’s legendary glass roof, guided by their personal tastes and desires. From funfairs to aeronautics, from the automotive industry to art shows, Paris’s Grand Palais has long been the extraordinary, emblematic venue that shines a spotlight on all exhibitors within its walls.

Since the Grand Palais was built in 1897, it has hosted a vast spectrum of cultural events, exhibitions, and fairs at which each person could stroll through the aisles beneath the structure’s legendary glass roof, guided by their personal tastes and desires. From funfairs to aeronautics, from the automotive industry to art shows, Paris’s Grand Palais has long been the extraordinary, emblematic venue that shines a spotlight on all exhibitors within its walls.

In 1925, at the Grand Palais in Paris, Rinck took part in the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a seminal event that marked the rise of the Art Deco style. This show was truly a laboratory for ideas and inspiration, having brought together the most daring designers of that time and establishing a new esthetic that would have a lasting impact on 20th-century design.

These were Rinck’s first steps as an ensemblier décorateur. This was also an era in which decorators better grasped the importance and impact of staging furniture ensembles at such events. In our archives, we find the earliest proof of this trend, in a photo depicting a bedroom furniture display.

A few years later, at the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques at the Grand Palais, Rinck won the prestigious Grand Prix Classe 38 in the furniture category for a creating living room and dining room designed in collaboration with interior designer Lucie Renaudot. This award gave recognition to a philosophy that combined refined detail with avant-garde esthetics and strengthened the company’s reputation at the major exhibitions of the time.

The company returned the following year, attending the Salon National des Beaux-Arts, also at the Grand Palais, in the Arts Décoratifs section, with new designs that were created specifically for this event. Here, the company presented a different vision of the bedroom, a more purist approach, with a bedroom suite in a style that had a decidedly Art-Deco flair, such as in the choice to use amboyna burl in the ensemble’s composition.  

In 1958, Rinck continued its quest for innovation at a key event of that day, taking part in the Brussels World’s Fair. Partnering with interior designer Louis Sognot and lighting designer Serge Mouille, the company presented a collection in which each piece was part of the staging of “a doctor’s apartment.”

It was awarded the Grand Prix, tying with Citroën and Dior, which recognized the excellence of a design that had been considered to the least detail. Among the pieces on display were a blackened pearwood coffee table, metal-legged chairs, and palm-wood veneer walls. Lighting by Serge Mouille, ceramics by Jean Derval, and tapestry from Mathieu Matégot enlivened the ensemble. At this event, Rinck once again stood out from the crowd by virtue of its innovative spirit and timeless esthetic.

In 1973, Rinck again exhibited at the Grand Palais, this time at the Salon National des Beaux-Arts, presenting an innovative furniture set with a 1970s-style table, chairs, sofa, and club chair. These pieces, with metal legs and chairs seats in Altuglas™, presaged the coming break with furniture tradition and embodied the modernity of the time. That last SNBA exhibition, with Maurice Rinck at the company’s helm, marked the end of a richly creative period. Through this furniture, Rinck once again demonstrated its skill in combining modern materials with expert savoir-faire while ceaselessly pursuing innovation.

In 2025, Rinck is once again returning to the Grand Palais for Art Paris, appearing in the new French Design Art Edition section, a space devoted to contemporary design and decorative arts. This event promises to be a new milestone in Rinck’s history. The company will showcase some of its most iconic designs, including the TR-73 chair, a contemporary version of the chair displayed at the Grand Palais in 1973, but now crafted from recycled Plexiglas®.

These creations, each an encapsulation of Rinck’s vast and diverse savoir-faire, exemplify a vision of design that fully embraces its classical heritage while preserving cutting-edge relevance. These exceptional pieces, produced in limited editions, are further confirmation of Rinck’s commitment to timeless excellence and exceptional craftsmanship.