Pergay Maria

About

Maria Pergay was born on October 28, 1930, in Chișinău, Moldova. Together with her mother, she fled to Paris in 1937, and after World War II, she studied costume design, stage design, and sculpture at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques. Influenced by the sculptor Ossip Zadkine, she began her career in the 1950s creating ornamental elements from wrought iron for the shop windows of luxury stores in Paris, including Dior, Hermès, and other renowned fashion houses. In 1960, she opened her own studio in Place des Vosges in the Marais district, where she sold her silver creations and attracted the attention of prestigious collectors, including Salvador Dalí. International recognition came in the 1960s when she began experimenting with stainless steel, a material she transformed into a personal symbol of her work. Following a collaboration with the French stainless steel company Uginox, she presented an innovative collection at the Maison Jardin gallery in 1968, which included iconic pieces such as the Chaise Anneaux and the Flying Carpet Daybed. Her designs attracted the attention of important figures in the fashion and design world, such as Pierre Cardin, and international commissions followed, including projects for the Saudi royal family, palaces, and luxury residences in Morocco, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Through her innovative use of stainless steel, which she described as "as precious as the most precious wood," she redefined French design in the 1970s. Although active throughout her life, Maria Pergay gained major recognition later in life, with her retrospective at the Demischdanant gallery in New York in 2006, almost 40 years after her furniture design work. In 2012, she was named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, recognizing her significant contribution to French culture. Her works are held in prestigious collections, including at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and her pieces have reached record prices at auctions, solidifying her legacy as one of the most important design figures of the 20th century. Maria Pergay passed away on October 31, 2023, at the age of 93.