Elegant and refined, amid surroundings that evoke the antique splendour of New York, the 12th edition of Salon Art + Design transformed Park Avenue Armory into a genuine stage for contemporary creativity. Unique pieces and limited editions featured in an event that brought together collectors, invited to discover the new galleries appearing at one of the most important events.
Presenting at the event for the first time were names such as Tuleste Factory, Galerie Philip, Spazio Nobile and Salon Design who displayed unique pieces in the form of lighting, furniture, fabrics and hand-painted wallpaper made by Pictalab, Creators of Objects and many others.
The Dutch Mia Karlova Galerie made its debut with an extraordinary exhibition of works by international designers such as Sho Ota, Jordan van der Ven, Jesse Visser, in a stimulating dialogue between genres and cultures. And a touch of ecological awareness with works by Vadim Kibardin, an artist and designer based in Prague who for ten years has been using waste paper and cardboard to create exclusive furniture pieces such as the chair and vanity table from the Black Mirror capsule collection, establishing a dialogue between form, function and aesthetics.
British company ABASK – an online platform for unique and collectible objects founded by Tom Chapman and Nicolas Pickaerts – making their debut in New York with their first physical space presented a cabinet of curiosities bathed in colour in which exclusive pieces by a hundred world-renowned producers showcase exquisite craftsmanship in pieces designed for the home, office and leisure.
Special exhibitions included James De Wulf from Los Angeles – known for his experimental works made with concrete combined with bronze, brass, steel and iron – who brought Exoskeleton, a series of unique pieces, a harmonious union between form and function, while the studio DeMuro Das unveiled the Badal, Clarion and Tempest collections of tables, handcrafted using bronze and semi-precious stones, evoking India’s cultural and craft heritage.
There was no shortage of reminiscences of Etruscan culture reworked by Matthew Fisher Elegy range: furniture and lamps carved in Brazilian quartzite and Middle Eastern Onyx, suspended and supported by metal elements in dark bronze and burnished silver.
Among Salon Art + Design’s longstanding galleries – FUMI, Chastel-Maréchal, Maison Gerard, to name but a few – one that stood out was Todd Merrill Studio with furniture, lighting and sculptural objects based on the juxtaposition of different materials and surfaces. Giving life to functional works infused with rare beauty.