TrendsThe Collectible Design Trends Gallerists Expect to Be Red-Hot in the Year to ComeAhead of collectible design fair Salon Art + Design, discover what exhibitors’ clients are coveting most

By Stephanie Sporn

November 11, 2021

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A preview of Galerie Chastel-Maréchal's Salon Art + Design installation featuring collectible design.Photography courtesy Galerie Chastel-Maréchal

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One of the industry’s most anticipated collectible design fairs returns to New York City this week. Fifty galleries from across the globe will be in attendance at the Park Avenue Armory for Salon Art + Design, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Produced by Sanford L. Smith + Associates, the fair will also feature site-specific commissions, debut collaborations, and programs discussing the on-view selection of historical and contemporary design and art. In anticipation, AD PRO caught up with several participating gallerists, from fair veteran Maison Gerard to new exhibitor Macklowe Gallery, to learn what their clients are requesting right now—and make predictions for where the spotlight will be in the year ahead.

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A Renewed Love for the Eclectic

Theories varied on what design’s response would be following a year-plus of lockdowns and dejection. Eric Barsky, gallery manager at Karl Kemp Antiques, has a front seat for the pendulum swing: “Over the past year or so, designers have been looking for authentic character, and their thirst for eclecticism is stronger than ever,” he says.

Designwise, that manifests in sculptural silhouettes, experimental materials, and distinct textures. For Karl Kemp Antiques, the naturally elegant works of Gabriella Crespi have been in high demand, whereas Lobel Modern has seen success with rare pieces by Paul Evans, Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, and Karl Springer. “These will still be the most coveted 20th-century designers of 2022 because there is nothing like them, and their pieces cross over into the realm of art,” gallery president Evan Lobel says.

Paul Evans’s 1973-made Sculptural Top coffee table, which will be on view at Lobel Modern.

Photography courtesy Lobel Modern

L’Art de Vivre

The perspectives of 20th-century French designers continue to allure collectors. For the past two years, says Magen H Gallery founder Hugues Magen, the works of Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Chapo have been in high demand. “Although they never interacted, there seems to be an intrinsic connection between their bodies of work,” says Magen, who plans to showcase nearly 50 pieces from the respective designers in a satellite exhibition aligned with Salon to further illustrate their synergistic qualities.

Works by fellow French furniture icon Jean Royère will also be on display at Magen H Gallery, as well as at the booths of Gabriel & Guillaume and Galerie Chastel-Maréchal. The latter will also be showing Line Vautrin mirrors, which clients are “going crazy for,” gallery assistant Pauline Da Costa Sampieri says.

The Ondulations side tables by Jean Royère, available at Galerie Chastel-Maréchal.

Photography courtesy Galerie Chastel-Maréchal

Ceramics Mania

Endlessly versatile, artisan ceramics can play well in layered, eccentric spaces and minimalist abodes alike. In response to “a great enthusiasm for creators like Georges Jouve or André Borderie,” says Da Costa Sampieri, Galerie Chastel-Maréchal will be presenting important French ceramics from the 1950s. Meanwhile, Carole Davenport gallery has its sights on Asian ceramics: A white porcelain moon jar from the Choson dynasty and Hiroyuki Asano’s granite Wolf Moon sculpture rank among the highlights of the Salon booth. Philadelphia-based Moderne Gallery is spotlighting American and Japanese studio works, namely those by in-demand artists Toshiko Takaezu, Peter Voulkos, Robert Arneson, and Estelle Halper.

Midcentury Brazilian Designs Pose Potential

“Brazil is the last country where you can still discover amazing [yet] little-known names,” says Nancy Gabriel, cofounder of Gabriel & Guillaume. For Salon, the gallery is presenting a pair of armchairs by Branco e Preto, a São Paulo–based firm. The studio’s pieces are simple in shape, but have “execution to match the craftsmanship of the better-known Joaquim Tenreiro,” Gabriel says.

Produced in a market ripe with exotic woods, Brazilian furniture design will also be on display at Karl Kemp Antiques: The gallery is showing Forma originals designed by Carlo Hauner and Martin Eisler in the 1950s.

A pair of Branco e Preto armchairs, presented by Gabriel & Guillaume.

Photography courtesy Gabriel & Guillaume

Buzzy Big Names

In the chart of collector interest, there are a few names that consistently draw strong demand—Harry Bertoia and George Nakashima among them. “People from all over the world are seeking [Nakashima’s] works with some passion,” says Robert Aibel, founder and codirector of Moderne Gallery. That designer’s genius will be well displayed at Salon Art + Design, where Moderne will present several of his rare and unusual pieces, including the first chair that he ever made. (The design dates to 1935 and was made while Nakashima was working in Japan; the only other two known examples are both in Japanese museums.) Martin Greenstein, gallery director of Lost City Arts in New York, has also noted increased interest—and prices—for Nakashima, as well as “very strong sales” for works by Harry Bertoia.

Moderne Gallery will show the Early Long chair, circa 1952, by George Nakashima.

Photography courtesy Moderne Gallery

The Next Big Things

In addition to their all-star lineups, many galleries are also spotlighting works by lesser-known designers, whose profiles will grow in years to come. For clients seeking “new and interesting forms in design,” Magen recommends midcentury French designer Henry Bataille, as well as French architect and designer Hervé Baley.

Guillaume Excoffier of Gabriel & Guillaume points to Paris-based designer Martin Szekely, who launched on the roster at Neotu Gallery in the ’80s. “He was always a favorite of art collectors for his contemporary designs, but recently his early works have seen prices rising very fast,” says Excoffier, who suspects that after Sotheby’s sales of Karl Lagerfeld’s estate next year, the designer will continue to skyrocket. (The late French fashion icon “bought loads [of Szekely’s work] for his last Paris residence,” according to Excoffier.)

Maison Gerard predicts an uptick in interest in the 20th-century French duo Guillerme et Chambron, whose “casual elegance” feels remarkably prescient, gallery owner Benoist F. Drut adds. “What we love is that many of the pieces have multiple functions—standing lamps have built-in trays to hold a book or drink; dining tables easily convert from small to large; and side tables can stack and hook together—all space-saving measures that work especially well for city dwellers.”

A piece by Paris-based designer Martin Szekely, available at Gabriel & Guillaume.

Photography courtesy Gabriel & Guillaume