Design, art and San Francisco soul unite at the fifth edition of FOG

With its reputation for bringing together a memorable selection of art and design pieces in an intimate setting, San Francisco’s FOG Design + Art (11-14 January) fair kicked off the new year on the right foot. Now seeing its fifth edition, the fair welcomed eight new galleries and several interactive presentations involving Aldo Cibic and the Eames, which merged art and design with San Francisco’s cultural identity. Here, we round up the highlights from the fair...

Black room with magic triangles matching work and floor lamp
Patrick Parrish The (absence of) colour black has always been a favourite among the art and design crowd. In a throwback to historic full-colour rooms and a nod to San Francisco’s alias as a point on the Black Magic Triangle, Patrick Parrish created an all-black booth, inspired by the night, to present a collection of matching works, including floor lamps by Bec Brittain, ceramics by Cody Hoyt and a staircase from the Norwegian architect/artist Tron Meyer.
(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

David Gill Gallery


(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

David Gill Gallery

 The British gallery bought a signature cast of heavy hitters over to the West Coast this year. With works ranging from Barnaby Barford’s The Seated Bear (2016) to Zaha Hadid’s pioneering ‘Liquid Glacial’ coffee table (2012) and Fredrikson Stallard’s ice-like ‘Antarctica I’ side table (2017), drama lurked around every corner.

Fog 2018 Dzwirner gallery


(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

David Zwirner 

David Zwirner’s A-list artist roster ranged from powerhouses such as Anni Albers, Josef Albers, William Eggleston, Richard Serra, Yayoi Kusama and Wolfgang Tillmans, as well as cult favourites like Carol Bove, Christopher Williams, Josh Smith and hometown hero Ruth Asawa

Gallery with blue wall and photo frames on wall


(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

Edward Cella Art + Architecture

 Edward Cella united three visionaries of architecture and urban planning with its presentation this year. Armed with historic drawings and objects by R Buckminster Fuller, Hans Hollein and Paolo Soleri, the gallery’s collection eloquently charted the transformation from post-war and postmodern sensibilities in twentieth-century architecture.

Mexico City’s Kurimanzutto gallery


(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

Kurimanzutto 

Mexico City’s Kurimanzutto gallery bought a vibrant selection of works including a series of computer embroidery pieces by Damián Ortega; a recent graphic work Orbit’s Trace (2017) from Gabriel Orozco; and a hypnotic new painting, Desert Survivor (2017), by Roman Ondák.

Art gallery with white wall and photo frames


(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

Luhring Augustine 

Christopher Wool’s recognisable graphic style was cast in a fresh light, thanks to Luhring Augustine’s presentation of new works on paper and a sculpture by the artist. The paper works combine a range of printmaking techniques, such as silkscreening, etching and hand drawing, while the sculpture that has been cast from concrete evokes a similar gestural fluidity in three-dimensional form.

Paul Kasmin Gallery with red wall


(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

Paul Kasmin

 Paul Kasmin Gallery dedicated its first presentation at FOG to Les Lalanne. Inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s music room in Paris, for which he commissioned over a dozen of Claude’s bronze mirrors, the works on show ranged in date from 1986 to 2017. This included François-Xavier Lalanne’s 'Gorille Derange' (2007/2010) and Claude Lalanne’s surrealist 'Table aux Serpents' (2017), which have never been exhibited in the USA before this.

Gallery with lights tables to objects that have been carved from wood, stone, bronze and terrazzo


(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

R & Company

 Interspersed among historic masterworks from Joaquim Tenreiro and Wendell Castle, New York’s R & Company presented the latest sculptural creations from Rogan Gregory, which range from lighting and tables to objects that have been carved from wood, stone, bronze and terrazzo by the artist.

London’s Sadie Coles HQ bought three new sculptures by Ugo Rondinone


(Image credit: JKA Photography Courtesy of FOG Design+Art)

Sadie Coles HQ 

London’s Sadie Coles HQ bought three new sculptures by Ugo Rondinone to mark its debut at FOG this year. The brightly-coloured works, all part of Rondinone’s popular ‘Mountain’ series, subtly veer away from the neon tones that defined earlier iterations and embrace a more gentle palette drawn from everyday life. 

Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.