William Sawaya

William Sawaya was born in Beirut in 1948. He graduated in 1973 at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Beirut. Especially
interested in interior design (he owed his first successes to his private residential projects in Lebanon), he expanded his
professional activity in France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Russia, the USA and the Persian Gulf. He studied in Paris and Milan
and began his career in the design of furniture which he deems to be part and parcel of a comprehensive educational project
on contemporary cultures. In 1978, he moved to Italy and established, with Paolo Moroni, the Sawaya and Moroni Design
Office. In 1984, they developed the Sawaya and Moroni Contemporary Furniture, an artistic project of which Sawaya is the
manager. He took part in various Art and Design Exhibitions, some of them showing exclusively his works (“Les Fleurs du
mal”, Paris January 1992, “New Sensualism” in Tokyo, April 1993) and some showing other artists’ works as well
(“Exhibition 30 Anni di Design” in Milan- April 1991, “Exhibition II Design Delli Anni 80” in Rome, February 1991). His works
have been featured in different books, magazines and newspapers of design and architecture. Some of his finest achievements
can be seen in many museums (the Glass vase at the Kunstmuseum in Düsseldorf, Calla at the Museum of Modern Art in NY)
as well as in private or public collections. Sawaya designed the Rencontre 2004 Baccarat collection.