Places between past and present (sometimes, why not, even the future) where an approach to research reigns made of attentive looks and lightning-fast intuitions. These veritable galleries open to selected design pieces - often unique or in limited series -, to icons of other times and to avant-garde proposals. The result is a new form of collecting, that of collectible design.
Nilufar Gallery + Nilufar Depot (Milan)
A point of reference for Milanese collectible design, and beyond, is Nilufar with its two locations: the Gallery and the Depot . It is a well-established reality, born in 1979, which over the years has been able to better define its identity to become the exhibition and commercial place we know today. Whether they are extremely functional or wink at the logic of art, the pieces chosen by Nina Yashar are united by research and innovation, they are often experimental and practically always capable of tell a story .
Atelier Jespers (Brussels)
The Atelier Jespers is a constantly evolving reality born in Brussels in 2015 and brought forward from the founder Jean Francois Declercq . As often happens, the passion for collecting evolves in the adventure of a design gallery. With a curatorial eye, the founder dedicates himself to scouting for new talents to be staged through temporary exhibitions .
Functional Art Gallery (Berlin)
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In 2018 Benoît Wolfrom and Javier Peres founded the Functional Art Gallery in Berlin with the aim of fueling the discussion between art and design through the work of contemporary designers capable of proposing points of intersection between the two worlds. The German gallery reflects precisely on the fine line between aesthetics and functionality (form and function), as well as between perception and intent.
Spazio Rossana Orlandi (Milan)
In 2002, after having worked for years as a textile consultant for big names in the fashion sector, Rossana Orlandi decides to give a space physicist to his passion for collecting and to open a gallery, the perfect mirror of his vision of design. In balance between reason and sentiment, he continues to personally select those pieces that will populate his space in the heart of Milan, giving life to often daring and surprising encounters and always keeping an eye on new proposals.
Mint (London)
In 1998 Lina Kanafani opens a gallery of design in central London where he begins to bring together works by new talents alongside pieces of international fame. Often on commission, the founder is looking for limited editions and innovative and sustainable proposals , which in any case do not neglect the aesthetic aspect, timeless, and the attention to detail. Alongside the contemporary proposals there is no shortage of handmade ceramics, glass objects and fabrics.
Galerie Kreo (Paris) < / strong>
Galerie Kreo opens its doors in Paris in 1999. The intent with which it was born is that of a laboratory space where collaborations with contemporary designers can be generated in the form of limited editions and tailor-made for the gallery . Over time, a particular attention to Italian and French vintage lamps has also been added to that of contemporary proposals.
Quick Tiny Shows (Buenos Aires)
More recent, born in 2018 in Buenos Aires edited by Juan Garcia Mosqueda , is this independent initiative that aims to select and showcase experimental art and design objects in non-traditional and short-term exhibition formats . Bimonthly set-ups that remain on stage for a few days, proposing themselves as an alternative to more traditional logics and spaces. A project that hopes to create stimulating conversations through these quick curatorial exercises.
Last Resort Gallery (Copenhagen )
This gallery, created in 2014 by Peter Amby , is proposed as a space capable of stimulating interaction, rather than suffocating it. The conversation is proposed first of all by the juxtaposition of pieces of a different nature , each invariably with its own story to share.
Gallery FUMI (London)
In 2008 Sam Pratt and Valerio Capo , both strangers to the world of design, decide to embark on the adventure of the FUMI Gallery, driven by passion and the desire to collaborate with artists and designers for investigating the beauty of materials . Thus was born a project that seeks a balance between mind and hand, between material and emotional.
Side Gallery (Barcelona)
The Side Gallery was born in 2015 in Barcelona, a space that mixes and researches modern and contemporary pieces. The hope is to to investigate new forms, new materials and new techniques or to reinterpret what is already known and explored. The gallery directs its research towards the creation of a red thread between design and craftsmanship, always keeping alive the dialogue between past and present .
< p class = "p1">Camp Design Gallery (Milan)
Starting from 2015, Camp Design Gallery aims to cross the boundary between art and design, positioning itself astride with an enthusiastic and experimental approach. Specialized in contemporary collectible design, the Milanese gallery lets itself be led by the search for contaminations and synergies .
Etage Projects (Copenhagen)
At the center of the reflections of this art and design gallery is once again the blurred and supple border between aesthetics and function. The active attempt is to fully investigate the concept of interdisciplinarity .
Victor Hunt (Brussels)
« We conceive the "designart ", the "contemporary collectible design " or the "functional art" - regardless of the name you want to give it - as the gray area between the industrial design, craftsmanship, architecture, sculpture, conceptual art, installation and many other forms of art; however we conceive it in the form of objects that allow or at least suggest a use. »
This is the definition that the Victor Hunt gallery, born in 2008 in Brussels, proposes with respect to the theme and puts it into practice through its collection made up of names from the past and proposals from the future.
