Masters of the 20th century and new talents, historic icons and symbols of the contemporary, rigor and sensorial impact interact with surprising harmony in the spaces of this design gallery founded in Barcelona in 2015. The mission? To explore the inseparable bond between tradition and innovation. A vision expressed by Side Gallery with force, also in the unusual choice of its two locations: a former pasta factory dating back to the 19th century, in the Poblenou district of Barcelona, and its bucolic extension in Casavells, in the Catalan region of Empordà-Costa Brava, where a magnificent 15th-century palace hosts seasonal exhibitions.
Specialized in research on historical masterpieces of Latin-American design – from Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico – the gallery’s expertise emerges in the selection of rare pieces made in Spain and Italy. Lina Bo Bardi, Carlo Scarpa, Luis Barragán, Gio Ponti, Oscar Niemeyer, Gianfranco Frattini, Gino Sarfatti, Le Corbusier, Sergio Rodrigues, Roberto Matta are just some of the great masters for which the gallery holds exclusive works, seen by an international audience at MoMA New York, the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, or in the events organized by DesignMiami, Collectible Fair in Brussels, Salon Art + Design New York, PAD London, etc.
A passion for design culture that has prompted Side Gallery to also promote contemporary design, inviting architects, artists and designers to rethink the roots and traditions of handmade things, developing commissioned limited editions as exclusive productions.
Works that have made history and pieces that will become the symbols of tomorrow are unveiled not only in the intense, dynamic exhibitions organized all over the world, but also through site-specific projects installed in iconic works of architecture. In the idea of reinterpreting boundaries, design-architecture-art converge in a fluid way, transformed into a single poietic work that sheds light on the power of creativity.
Contemporary designers like Sabine Marcelis, Sigve Knutson, Zhou Yilun, Guillermo Santomà, Muller Van Severen, Sam Chermayeff, Sang Hoon Kim, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Chan Chiao Chun, Sophie Rowley, Carlo Lorenzetti, Frida Escobedo, Willem Van Hooff represent a melting pot of cultures and sensorial perceptions to explore the new era of art design.
Emerging talents to keep in mind include Tadeáš Podracky and his Metamorphosis Collection, presented at Design Miami/ 2021: a line of furnishings created to reinforce the emotional bond with the surrounding setting.The collection, made in the designer’s studio in Prague during a two-month lockdown – during which it was impossible to procure materials – has been created with found “scrap” including wood, fabrics, old auto parts, broken pottery and glass…
The results are amazing: the objects shaped by Tadeáš’s hands are combinations of different elements, carefully selected and glued together. Off-scale birds’ nests, evocative weaves, driven by a creative process moored to a single dogma: complete freedom of expression.
Side Gallery
Barcelona – 109 Carrer Lull
Casavells – 2 Carrer Sant Isidre
