A Barbie Pink Living Room, A Patchwork Metal Cabinet: Everything We Loved From the 2023 Collectible Fair in Brussels

Consistently one of our favorite fairs on the design circuit, the sixth edition of Collectible opened last week in a new venue in Brussels, and even from afar we were struck by the fair’s continued push towards experimentation. In a new section called Dialogue, curated by Atelier Jespers’s Jean-François Declerq, galleries were invited to show works from the ’80s and ’90s in conversation with more contemporary pieces (probably our favorite exhibition trope, tbh); another new section, called Architect <=> Designer, showcased only work by architects and interior designers, including the Paris-based firm Corpus Studio, whose folded aluminum works we’re featuring below. A section called New Garde featured the best recently launched galleries and collectives — like Good Sessions, who showed Rococo-esque fiberboard creations by Swedish designer Ebba Lindgren — while the main section featured some of our favorite up-and-comers including Anna Aagaard Jensen’s petal-pink florals for Étage Projects, Lewis Kemmenoe‘s patchwork cabinets at The Radford Gallery, and Sarah Roseman’s textile-wrapped mirrors at Objects With Narratives. Our favorite presentations were, naturally, the two that brought the most drama: Tableau’s Pepto-pink group exhibition offering a “modern take on Barbie”, with pieces by Ward Wijnant, Pettersen Hein, and Laurids Gallée, among others, and a deeply moody, brick-red, first-time presentation by the Antwerp-based St. Vincents gallery, presenting work by Lukas Cober, Haos, Michael Hilal, Hannah Kuhlmann, Brian Thoreen, and more. Check out our favorites below!

Tableau

Works by Lab La Bla, Pettersen Hein, Annelie Grimwade Olofsson, Ward Wijnant, Comet, Ali Galleffoss, Kristine Mandsbert, Anton Hendrik Denys, Sigurd Schielde & Lau Spohr, Laurids Gallée, Arnaud Eubelen, Balzer Balzer, Sarah Roseman, Nomonom Studio, Auchkatz Studio, & Orta Miklos. Photos by Trend Nomad

St. Vincents

Works by Studio Lukas Cober, Studio Haos, Michael Hilal, Studio Kuhlmann, Anne Buscher, Atelier Axo, Brian Thoreen, Estudio Persona, Forever Studio, Fred Rigby, and Haring. Photos by Ligia Poplawska

Objects With Narratives

Works by Alun Heslop, Cedric Breisacher, Dim Atelier, Fauna, Hakmin Lee, Jan Ernst, Laura Sattin, Laurids Gallée, Lisa Ertel, Lukas Cober, Maria Tyakina, Mira Sohlen, Mircea Anghel, Pierre De Valck, Raphael Kadid, Roxane Lahidji, Sabourin Costes, Sarah Roseman, Six N. Five, Steven Edwards, Supertoys Supertoys, Tim Vranken, Ward Wijnant, and William Guillon. Photos by Studio Brinth