Uvola: a chair of pure lightness imagined by Jérôme Bugara

Jérôme Bugara: between sculpture and functional design

Jérôme Bugara has cultivated since his beginnings an approach where design meets sculpture. Trained in fine arts and having worked in interior architecture, he founded his own workshop-gallery in Paris, where each creation oscillates between functional object and contemplative artwork. His formal vocabulary favors organic curves, continuous surfaces and an intimate relationship with raw material — whether metal, stone or solid wood.

Careful to master the entire creative chain, he works closely with French craftsmen to guarantee impeccable finishing and coherence between design and execution. Each piece published under his label bears his signature, witness to a process where extended time and manual gesture remain central.

To discover the designer’s complete universe: Jérôme Bugara official website | Instagram @jeromebugara

Suspended lines, between form and function

Seen in profile, the chair evokes a wave ready to close. The vanished edges, generous radii and seat-backrest continuity create a calm presence, closer to sculpture than demonstrative furniture. The ergonomics remain discreet yet real: slight backrest inclination, under-thigh support, low center of gravity to ensure stability. One sits to contemplate as much as to rest.

Materials: metal, onyx, wood — a different language for each version

The launch model comes in polished metal, a smooth surface where light slides and diffracts, almost liquid. In its white onyx version, Uvola gains depth: the stone, cut then hand-polished, releases a subtle internal glow. In solid wood, the piece becomes more organic: the grain follows the curve and warms the silhouette. Each material is chosen for its density, its capacity to capture light and its adequacy to the design.

Fabrication: French craftsmanship and assumed extended time

Produced in limited edition, signed and numbered, the chair is made to order in specialized French workshops: metal polishers, marble workers and cabinetmakers. The process requires approximately 16 to 18 weeks depending on the version: volume development, shaping, successive sanding, polishing and reflection control in grazing light. No piece is strictly identical: manual work leaves a sensitive signature, imperceptible from a distance, tangible up close.

This artisanal approach follows a logic of art edition rather than industrial production. Each order triggers a complete manufacturing cycle, from material selection to final finishing. Metal is polished to achieve a perfect mirror, onyx reveals its nuances after hours of sanding, wood is worked with respect for its natural grain.

Positioning: art furniture, real use

Uvola sits at the boundary of art furniture. It functions, but installs itself above all as a presence. In an entrance hall, a gallery, a sober living room, it becomes a visual anchor point. Metal reflects the surrounding architecture, onyx diffuses a soft glow in backlighting, wood brings immediate tactile warmth. The object doesn’t seek effect: it soothes and orders space through its mere presence.

This contemplative dimension doesn’t exclude daily use. The chair welcomes the body with precision, without constraint or excessive softness. It suits interiors with strong identity — private mansions, private galleries, high-end hospitality spaces — where each element counts and participates in a global narrative.

Custom-made and project coherence

True to the publisher’s DNA, each chair can be customized: wood species or stone, tonality, finish, dimensional adjustments. This flexibility allows precise integration without betraying the original design. The result remains coherent: a readable silhouette, a continuous volume, a material that speaks. Through its biomorphic softness, Uvola dialogues with a lineage of sculpted seats while distinguishing itself through silent writing and contemporary finishing demands. To place this type of object in a broader historical context, consult our resource The great history of design.

Uvola is not a resounding manifesto, but an object of precision: continuous curves, noble materials, assumed artisanal time. A chair that affirms that, sometimes, luxury is first a quality of silence.