Discover the Most Extraordinary Furniture, Jewelry, and Art from PAD Paris

On the opening day serious collectors and society names, including the fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus and Queen Noor of Jordan, were there for the 11am kick off. By midday, the American designer Roger Thomas, whose Venice home embellished the cover of Galerie last fall, was cruising the aisles, having already snapped up two Maison Dominique chairs from the Parisian gallery Patrick Fourtin. “They’re going to the house in Portugal,” he said, of the 1930s wood-framed armchairs, upholstered in olive green velvet.

“That’s the thing about PAD in Paris,” said Florian Daguet-Bresson, who recently founded the city’s youngest gallery for contemporary ceramics. “People come here to buy beautiful things for their homes, not to put things in storage. You can see them re-arranging their rooms in their heads. They know where their purchases are going to go.”

While the focus in Paris is still historic work, there are new pieces here and there. A long resin bench by the Turin-based Studio Nucleo, for example, had arrived the day before. “It had to be sanded so many times to achieve the finish” explained gallerist Gabrielle Amman, of the piece where an aged plank of wood appears to float in the resin block. “I love the narrative it contains, of bringing some love and new life to something old and abandoned.”

If the bench showed what can happen when man and nature combine forces—the resin was full of big, silvery bubbles formed by gasses and liquids emitted by the plank—the installation at the opening of the fair did too. In a forest-like installation by Diane de Kergal  (who is represented by Galerie Gosserez) the lampstands were made from branches she’s found on the forest floor. For the lamps themselves, de Kergal allows silkworms in the Cevennes to weave their cocoons over her sculptural forms to form the milky-white translucent shades.

Scattered among the heroic pieces (a set of 8 Mollino chairs; a truly unique Jouve vase; a bespoke Perriand bookcase) was a growing trend for textiles. Gosserez had worked with fabric specialists Lelievre to create stunning ceiling-to-floor hangings as scenography for its stand, while Chastel Marechal was showing a stunning work by Sheila Hicks from 1982 of thickly roped wool and silk skeins in pink, orange and pale gold. At Maniera a tufted hanging by the Christophe Hefti (textile designer for Dries Van Noten) created a warm backdrop.

Elsewhere, it was starting to look like the 1980s were most definitely on the way back, doubtless helped along by the excellent 1980s design exhibition  at the nearby Musee des Arts Decoratifs, and a Philippe Starck exhibition that opened on 29 March at the Musee Carnavalet. As the delightful design and art advisor Simon Andrews said: “Most of the best post-war has been circulated now. The 1980s are in the post.”

Below, discover six special highlights discovered at the fair.

1. Jean-Servais Simion at Foreign Agent (Lausanne, Switzerland)

The Cote d’Ivorian Simion carves his totemic bookshelves out of coconut wood, working in sympathy with the super-hard material. “It is a plant, not a tree,” explained Simion, “and needs to be treated with sympathy and sensitivity.” This includes an initial 2 month drying process, and frequent breaks in carving to allow the flesh to settle. “I am really influenced by Charlotte Perriand,” said the 52 year old Simion. “There was a real lightness in her work. And it looks very simple, even though it isn’t. These are the things I aspire to.”

2. Carlo Mollino at Carpenters Workshop (Paris, New York, London)

A set of eight chairs made by Carlo Mollino in 1953 for the chic Case del Sole apartments in the Italian ski-ing resort of Cervinia was a star of the show. Even when focussed on a rural Alpine setting, Mollino couldn’t lose the sexy curves that defined his designs, though practicality also prevailed. Following the local tradition of the 3-legged chair, they were designed entirely in wood to withstand the weight and the wetness of returning skiers. Only 150 were produced.

3. Krjst at Scene Ouverte (Paris)

KRJST are Erika Schillebeeck and Justine de Moriamé whose extraordinary woven panels are like luxurious three-dimensional paintings. They take months to create each densely woven piece at their studio in Zaventum, outside of Brussels and the results are literally luminous, thanks to an elaborate use of metallic thread.  Unsurprisingly a long list of luxury clients includes Hermes and Diptych. “Art collectors are really drawn to this work,” said Laurence Bonell of Scene Ouverte. “They are drawn to the aesthetic but also intrigued by how it’s made.”

4. Charlotte Perriand Library at Laffanour (Paris)

A show-stopping one-off piece by Charlotte Perriand had sold within 30 minutes of the fair opening, said Laffanour director Hellin Serre. The nearly 10-foot wide book case had been made to measure in 1965 for the Paris apartment of a specialist book collector. Mixing metal, plastic and wood, a section of brilliant red filing trays occupy its centre like a beating heart. “It’s been in Paris since the day it was made,” said Serre, “but as soon as the fair finishes it will be on its way to the United States.”

5. Philippe Starck at Remix (Paris)

Until recently, Antoine Nouvet and his partner Valerie Bouvier were selling their 1980s wares from a space in the Paul Bert Serpette section of the Saint Ouen flea market in Paris. Now they are at PAD for the first time, with their selection of Starck, Pierre Sala and Ron Arad. “Young people now view this work as historic, and are beginning to understand its complexity and form,” said Nouvet. The cast aluminium Starck stools were designed for the Royalton Hotel in New York in 1987 with burnt orange velvet seats. Reprised for the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong in 1994 – in what we might call Starck’s “white period” – they were finished off with white patent leather. The Mickville chair is a definitive vintage Starck – a dainty foldable chair that’s a triumph of industrial design.

6. Jouve Vase at Matthieu Richard

Matthieu Richard hadn’t put on price on the stunning vase by Georges Jouve placed on a plinth at the centre of his stand. Often considered the father of contemporary ceramics, the prices for Jouve have been soaring over the last 5 years, with a truly dynamic progression in the last 2-3. This piece from 1949—most likely made for exhibition, and marked Made in France on its base—is a virtuoso hand-crafted item with elaborate 3-dimensional detailing. Jouve died from lead poisoning, as a result of his work, aged just 54, leaving a limited and highly desirable legacy.