Last week saw the run of the first annual Collective Design Fair, the first of the many art and design events and exhibitions in New York City this May. Organized by architect and interior designer Steven Learner, the Fair is the ‘collective’ effort of a “passionate group of designers, curators, collectors and gallerists who recognize a need for a new commercial and educational platform for the design collector and connoisseur. With the avid support of the New York creative community, Collective intends to showcase a compelling vision of design today.”
“SWASH” installation by Dana Barnes Studio
If BKLYN Designs has long been an alternative to the ICFF, the Collective Design Fair was more a complement to Frieze, which returned to Randall’s Island after a very successful showing last year—the newcomer offered design-centric galleries and dealers an opportunity to get in on the action. Although both BKLYN Designs and the Collective Design Fair took place in former industrial spaces, they could not have been more different. Where the St. Ann’s Warehouse hosted a range of young and emerging designers from as far afield as Bushwick, Pier 57 housed some two high-end design galleries from the world over, exhibiting an eclectic but unequivocally upscale wares.
Sebastian Errazuriz’s cheeky installation was legible from afar
Yet so too was the work consistently interesting: just beyond Sebastian Errazuriz’s ‘statement piece’ in the foyer, a special exhibition of Gaetano Pesce’s eccentric works of design-art—a dubious categorization at best—set an interesting tone for the show.
In his practice, Pesce expresses the necessity of working in a multi-disciplinary way, breaking down boundaries between artistic languages. Observing that the culture of the object has been growing rapidly in the past two decades, he insists that objects are the art of our time.
The fair closed its four-day run over the weekend, but we’re pleased to bring you some of our favs—motorcycles, an animated GIF and much more after the jump…
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