Pieter De Bruyne (1931-1987)

De Bruyne graduated as interior designer in 1953. In 1955, 1956 and 1957 he participated in the ‘Salons van het Moderne Sociale Meubel’ (Exhibition of Modern Social Furniture) in Gent. In 1958 he received the Gouden Kenteken (Golden Sign) award. He gained international acclaim at the International Furniture Competition in Cantu (Italy).

His early works are characterized by the belief that furniture should not only have an aesthetic value but should also be marketable. In other words, everybody should be able to buy it.
In the second half of the 1970s Belgian design did not amount to anything much anymore. There was hardly an industry worthy of that name. Furniture manufacturers sticking to functionalism went bankrupt. Fortunately exceptions prove the rule. Pieter De Bruyne was one of them. At the time he no longer worked for the industry but designed unique pieces for customers. They are true milestones. He may rightly be called a postmodernist avant la lettre