{"id":223716,"date":"2024-03-13T10:20:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T14:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_news&p=223716"},"modified":"2024-03-13T15:18:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T19:18:40","slug":"design-highlights-from-collectible-brussels-2024","status":"publish","type":"id_news","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/designwire\/design-highlights-from-collectible-brussels-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Design Highlights From Collectible Brussels 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Installation view of the Guild of Saint Luke Gallery\u2019s booth at Collectible Brussels 2024. Photograph courtesy of GSL Gallery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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March 13, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Osman Can Yerebakan<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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6 Design Highlights From Collectible Brussels 2024<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

When Collectible<\/a> co-founders Liv Vaisberg and Cl\u00e9lie Debehault sat down for coffee upon their mutual friends\u2019 suggestion, little did they know they would establish a massive design fair that just turned seven. Collectible Brussels 2024, which recently wrapped at the Vanderborght Building (March 7 – 10) alongside TEFAF<\/a>, an art, design, and antique fair held in the neighboring Dutch city of Maastricht, carries a strict commitment to cutting-edge contemporary design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fair also plays to an established collector base in Brussels, helping the founders strengthen their roots in the city. \u201cThe collector profile in the French part of Belgium is lenient towards decorative arts with a classical idea of craftsmanship,\u201d Vaisberg explains. \u201cThe Flemish southern part, however, has a larger tendency for the contemporary.\u201d Even with a dedication to focus on the very moment, the founders opened what Vaisberg calls \u201ca tiny door to the 1980s and the \u201890s\u201d with the Dialogue section, which carves room for contemporary designers building parallels with decades past. Experimental outdoor furnishings and objects also are on full display this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are interested in stimulating the market from day one,\u201d Vaisberg adds. This can be clearly seen with Collectible\u2019s grand unveiling of a brick-and-mortar space in the posh Rue Saint-Georges district where the one-of-a-kind platform aims to remain in touch with the community through consulting, dinners, and programming under its Club Collectible initiative. The fair also announced plans to expand overseas, with a New York outpost slated to debut in September at Water Street Projects during the Armory Show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From whimsical outdoor pieces to chromatic bronze furniture made of tiny finger-like bits, explore must-see highlights from Collectible Brussels 2024 (and check out last year\u2018s coverage<\/a> of the event as well).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VISIONARY DESIGNS FROM COLLECTIBLE BRUSSELS 2024<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bas Smets Brings The Outdoors In At Collectible Brussels 2024<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Substruct<\/em>, a work by Orson Van Beek and No\u00ebmi Orgaer. Photograph courtesy of No\u00ebmi Orgaer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the unpredictable Brussels weather in March makes an outdoor installation challenging, the fair building\u2019s fifth floor was flooded with light thanks to a nature-filled section curated by Brussels-based landscape architect Bas Smets<\/a>. The new exhibition area featured a juxtaposition of light through colorful films Smets placed over the towering windows. \u201cMy husband and I were on a search for furniture for outdoors and I realized I couldn\u2019t find anything from a designer that I am familiar with,\u201d says Vaisberg. As a solution, the curator organized an open call and selected 12 designers, largely those exhibiting in the overall fair as well as a few who were invited to join by Smets. The mini exhibition offered a romantic, light-washed homage to a garden\u2014albeit indoors, yet not comprising the joy and color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frederik Molenschot Surprises With Chromatic Furniture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Frederik Molenschot\u2019s installation at Collectible Brussels 2024. Photograph courtesy of Frederik Molenschot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Represented by international powerhouse Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Dutch designer Frederik Molenschot<\/a> participated in Collectible Brussels 2024 with a massive sculpture in the atrium. \u201cWe wanted to let Frederik create a work that he normally would not for his gallery\u2019s booth,\u201d tells Vaisberg. Molenschot activated the chromatic bronze furniture, which is made out of softly-shaped finger-like bits, during the fair\u2019s preview on March 6 with a performance in which he donned a hazmat suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Max Radford Gallery Invests In The Design Of The Moment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Installation view of Max Radford\u2019s gallery booth. Photograph courtesy of Max Radford Gallery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In line with the fair\u2019s mission to invest in the design of the moment, displaying works that intrigue young collectors and designers alike was a principal goal. \u201cWe have many collectors in their 30s who started with vintage and have slowly veered towards contemporary,\u201d Vaisberg says. On the flip side, she also believes in providing a platform for emerging young exhibitors, noting Instagram is often an ideal space to spot talent. For example, London-based dealer and designer Max Radford<\/a> caught the fair cofounder\u2019s attention while she was scrolling through her feed. For his sophomore year at the fair, he presented a booth with 16 London-based designers and artists\u201411 of whom made their fair debut\u2014such as Ty Locke, Fred Thomson, and Lewis Kemmenoe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim Mupangila\u00ef Charms Visitors With Her Hefty Furniture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Installation view of Kim Mupangila\u00ef\u2019s booth. Photograph courtesy of Kim Mupangila\u00ef.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Architects were welcome, in a designated section, to flex their design muscles too. Here, standouts included New York-based Belgian Congolese architect and industrial designer Kim Mupangila\u00ef<\/a>, whose work Vaisberg encountered at the New York design gallery Superhouse<\/a> last summer. Mupangila\u00ef\u2019s playful yet hefty wooden chairs with dramatic forms were an immediate attraction. \u201cKim\u2019s furniture was inspirational for me and I hope she can inspire other architects to explore this path,\u201d says Vaisberg who brought together 17 architects in total in the micro-exhibit, including Bastiaan Egbert Kalmeyer who designed the\u00a0scenography for the section as well as a table and chairs for his wife who works as a chef. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guild of Saint Luke Gallery Embraces The Punk Industrial Aesthetic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Installation view of the Guild of Saint Luke Gallery\u2019s booth. Photograph courtesy of Guild of Saint Luke Gallery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The fair also spotlighted interior designer-turned-design dealers. \u201cWe realized there is an appetite for this overlap,\u201d Vaisberg adds, pointing at Guild of Saint Luke Gallery<\/a> founder John Whelan. An interior designer by training, the British dealer opened his Paris venture with an inspiration from the Guild of Saint Luke, a 14th-century organization of artists, seeking musings from the traditional to translate into the aesthetic of the very moment. The gallery\u2019s fair debut included furniture by Olivia Bossy, EJR Barnes, and Julian Harold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Objects With Narratives Mixes Playfulness With Modern Flair<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Objects With Narratives, Cobra Studios, 2022. Photography by Mathijs Labadie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Bruges-based gallery Objects With Narratives (OWN)<\/a> also took the fair moment to celebrate the launch of their new 2000-square-meter Brussels space, named The Grand Sablon 40. Similar to Collectible Brussels 2024\u2019s goal to activate their permanent storefront with year-long programming, the gallery plans to pull the community to their new location beyond a typical exhibition calendar. At the fair, they echoed the communal sentiment with a playful display of furniture and objects spread across their 100-square-meter booth. Under the theme of asking if there is room for games, they brought together cues from various community space structures, such as office spaces, bars, and game rooms. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n