The Most Anticipated Pieces at PAD London 2019

The 13th annual Pavilion for Art and Design (PAD) London has officially kicked off, gathering a curated assortment of 20th-century decorative pieces and contemporary collectibles to Mayfair’s Berkeley Square from Sept. 30–Oct. 6. This year’s edition sees 11 new galleries join the fold, bringing the total to 68 participants from such far-flung locales as Greece and South Africa. 

One notable newcomer is Southern Guild, a South African contemporary design gallery founded by Trevyn and Julian McGowan. PAD London’s first Africa-based participant, Southern Guild presents 18 pieces across furniture, lighting, and ceramics, including Porky Hefer’s animalistic leather-clad seating pod, large-scale ceramic sculpture by Zizipho Poswa, and two oceanic works by Kenyan sculptor Stanislaw Trzebinski, who recently wrapped up a solo exhibition at the gallery’s location in Cape Town. Rich Mnisi also debuts the freeform Nwa-Mulamula chaise, which marks the acclaimed fashion designer’s initial foray into furniture. 

Other participants are delivering a fresh dose of ambitious, awe-inspiring pieces. Over at Sarah Myerscough Gallery, Gareth Neal presents Block III, a felled greenwood sculpture that forms the latest edition of his Ancestral Fossil series. (Its long-awaited debut follows two years of recreating the original, which was stolen from Neal’s van prior to PAD London 2017.) 

Carpenters Workshop Gallery, meanwhile, reveals Spain-born, Rotterdam-based designer Nacho Carbonell’s monumental Big Round Chandelier—an ambitious follow-up to the gallery’s 2018 honor as Best Stand at the PAD—alongside signature pieces by Vincenzo de Cotiis and Rick Owens. Barcelona-based Side Gallery, established by Louis Sendino and Jacobo Valenti, will contrast historical Latin American mainstays Oscar Niemeyer, Lina Bo Bardi, and Clara Porset with contemporary newcomers Julie Richos and Sabine Marcelis, who presents limited-edition candy-colored versions of her Totem lamp series. 

Check the slideshow for what we expect will be more of the show’s highlights.