Rinck x The Guild of Saint Luke, a rediscovered Heritage

The story began with a call from Galerie Vauclair, informing Rinck of the discovery of a rare Art Deco furniture ensemble from the 1930s, attributed to Eugène Rinck, the third generation to lead the Maison founded in 1841.
This discovery became the starting point of a captivating investigation led by Rinck’s teams, eager to retrace the origin and history of these forgotten pieces.

The Maison’s historic archives — order books, sketches, cutting sheets, photographic albums — confirmed their provenance: a study suite commissioned in 1931 by a private family, comprising a desk, bookcase, sofa, and armchair, all crafted in walnut burl.

When Valentin Goux presented this rediscovered ensemble to John Whelan, the British designer was immediately drawn to the purity of its lines and the precision of its proportions.
He saw in it the opportunity for a unique exercise: to revisit the original design without altering its structure, renewing it instead through material and perception.

Thus was born the Rinck x GSL – E. Rinck collection, unveiled at PAD London 2025, within a scenography exploring the duality between past and present, between the warmth of wood and the coolness of metal.

Placed side by side, the period pieces and their contemporary counterparts engage in a play of mirrors: the originals, restored by Rinck, retain the softness of walnut and the satin sheen of nickel, while The Guild of Saint Luke’s reinterpretations adopt a more radical tone — black-stained bird’s-eye maple, brushed steel, deep lacquer.

The same silhouette, the same balance, yet a different language: where yesterday’s wood captured the light, today’s metal reflects it.
This face-to-face becomes a silent conversation about time, material, and perception.

John Whelan does not seek rupture, but resonance.
His work reveals the quiet strength of the original design while exploring a more dramatic, almost introspective aesthetic.