PAD, the unaffiliated design adjunct to the Frieze London art fair, is now a settled fixture. And it makes for a civilised diversion, made even more civilised this year by the restaurant and bar design from David Collins Studio. It doesn’t though offer much in the way of surprises. In fairness, PAD, unlike Design Miami, has never set itself up as champion of new design. It is built around the Parisian 20th century design galleries who continue to unearth pieces from Prouvé and Perriand when logic suggests the supply must be thoroughly exhausted.
But there is adventure at PAD this year if you look for it. Cologne’s Ammann Gallery has new pieces from Turin-based Nucleo, even if they come off ancient as much as contemporary. The young British designers Faye Toogood and Bethan Laura Wood, now enjoying almost pop star status, have works at Gallery Fumi and Nilufar respectively.
Hervé van der Straeten, meanwhile, is presenting his own new designs; the French contemporary ceramics specialist Sèvres, a PAD debutant, has typically beguiling designs from Aldo Bakker; Galerie Kreo, recently opened in London, has new pieces from Doshi Levien; Friedman Benda fields new works from Joris Laarman; and Carpenters Workshop Gallery has genitalia-inspired lamps from Atelier Van Lieshout. As you do.
This year’s standouts though are probably the Garrido siblings, Juan and Paloma, who sell their own designs through an eponymous gallery in Madrid. Second generation silversmiths, the pair craft sculptural metal furniture in elegant ellipses and shattered shards.
Hervé van der Straeten is presenting his own new designs at PAD including 'Sideboard 69' - a piece that contrasts lightly faded black lacquered wood with parchment and a strip of golden-brown patinated bronze.
Friedman Benda fields new works from Dutch designer Joris Laarman including the futuristic 'Diamond' table from his 'Maker' series.
The 'Diamond' table is made from hundreds of parametric maple parts engineered to precisely fit together like a three-dimensional puzzle.
Italian design gallery Nilufar is showing Bethan Laura Wood's 'Crisscross' light
Cologne’s Amman Gallery has new pieces from Turin-based Nucleo. Pictured is 'Souvenir of the last century' bench - a 20th century wood bench preserved in resin.
'Quartz stone fossil', by Nucleo.
'Bronze Age', Nucleo.
At Gallery Fumi, Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert's handblown glass 'Clouds' have a dreamlike quality.
Also at Gallery Fumi is Faye Toogood's deceptively soft-looking fibreglass 'Roly-Poly' daybed.
Artists, designers and second generation silversmiths Juan and Paloma Garrido are showcasing metal furniture pieces including the nickel-plated metal 'Crosscut Low' table. A limited edition of 8 pieces, the 'Crosscut Low' table is completely handmade using traditional artisanal techniques.
Like their smaller scale design objects, the Garrido Brothers' furniture pieces are inspired by the natural and geometric forms found in nature.
'Cilindros Round' centrepiece, by Juan and Paloma Garrido in sterling silver.
'Cilindros Cube' table in anthracite nickel, by Juan and Paloma Garrido.
'Oval Mineral' table, by Juan and Paloma Garrido.
'Crystals' console, by Juan and Paloma Garrido.
ADDRESS
PAD London
Berkeley Square
London W1
-
Rio Kobayashi’s new furniture bridges eras, shown alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury paintings at Blunk SpaceFurniture designer Rio Kobayashi unveils a new series, informed by the paintings of midcentury artist Fritz Rauh, at California’s Blunk Space
-
New York restaurant Locanda Verde’s second outpost will transport you to a different time and placeLocanda Verde’s expansive new Hudson Yards osteria exudes a sophisticated yet intimate atmosphere overflowing with art treasures
-
LVMH watch week 2025: everything we know so farOur guide to LVMH Watch Week 2025, taking place in New York and Paris, starting 21 January; keep an eye out for our updates
-
When galleries become protest sites – a new exhibition explores the art of disruptionIn a new exhibition at London's Auto Italia, Alex Margo Arden explores the recent spate of art attacks and the 'tricky' discourse they provoke
-
'It's a metaphor for life': rising star and 'Queer' poster artist Jake Grewal on his new London exhibitionBritish artist Jake Grewal speaks to Simon Chilvers about 'Under the Same Sky' as it opens at Studio Voltaire in London
-
Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025: Tate Modern’s cultural shapeshifting takes the art prizeWe sing the praises of Tate Modern for celebrating the artists that are drawn to other worlds
-
Inside the distorted world of artist George RouyFrequently drawing comparisons with Francis Bacon, painter George Rouy is gaining peer points for his use of classic techniques to distort the human form
-
‘I'm endlessly fascinated by the nude’: Somaya Critchlow’s intimate and confident drawings are on show in London‘Triple Threat’ at Maximillian William gallery in London is British artist Somaya Critchlow’s first show dedicated solely to drawing
-
Surrealism as feminist resistance: artists against fascism in Leeds‘The Traumatic Surreal’ at the Henry Moore Institute, unpacks the generational trauma left by Nazism for postwar women
-
Looking forward to Tate Modern’s 25th anniversary partyFrom 9-12 May 2025, Tate Modern, one of London’s most adored art museums, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a lively weekend of festivities
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekA week in the world of Wallpaper*. Here's how our editors have been entertaining themselves in the run up to Christmas
