9 Collectible Design Shows to See in September
From an eclectic Parisian gallery’s 40-year anniversary to an acclaimed Brazilian sculptor’s bronze candelabras crawling with adorable critters
September always signals a return, whether to school or a sense of structure after a summer spent ignoring emails on the beach. That shift is especially palpable across the design sphere, especially in New York, where the recent Armory Arts Week has found a compelling new anchor in Collectible, the bold Belgian fair whose second U.S. edition spawned a medley of compelling design exhibitions across the city. But there’s much to see outside the five boroughs, from Ronan Bouroullec’s ethereal, Flavin-inspired lighting sculptures to hand-chiseled ceramic seats by Max Lamb.
1. “Ronan Bouroullec: Clair-Obscur” at Galerie Kreo | Paris
It may seem reductive to describe Ronan Bouroullec’s latest creations as “lamps” or “fixtures.” Each luminaire consists of two elements in fine blown glass: a white opaline globe that diffuses light, encased in a transparent corolla of gray or amber glass that, depending on the angle, filters or reflects it. These forms connect to one another by rods of solid anodized aluminum. And while they nod to classic lighting by FontanaArte or Gino Sarfatti, they seem spiritually linked to minimalist art and the Light and Space Movement—anodized metal echoes Donald Judd’s Progressions while luminous discs are reminiscent of luminous discs by Robert Irwin. Their structure, built on repetition and variation, allows for endless configurations and illuminates how Bouroullec aims to re-infuse minimalism with a sense of artful subtlety.
September 4 – November 1
2. “Saint Clair Cemin: Tosca” at David Gill Gallery | London
Nearly two decades of experimentation have culminated in sculptor Saint Clair Cemin’s debut design exhibition, a sprightly series of sculptural bronze objects encompassing five candle holders, seating, tables, and a chandelier. Each piece depicts whimsical scenes, from whales dozing in the branches of trees to a chandelier stretching like a sinewy spider’s web. “Animal comes from the word anima,” says Cemin, who splits time between Greece and the United States. “It’s what gives soul to something, makes it animated.” The series builds on the sculptor’s earlier decorative commissions, including his renovation of Paris’s Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, where he developed a nature-inspired style called rococo sauvage. There’s a deliberate ambiguity at play: forms that feel equally ancient and futuristic. “I like the idea of a lack of synchronicity,” he says. “They could be antiques.”
September 11 – October 4
3. “Stephen Burks Man Made: Kuba Sugi” at Space Un | Tokyo
Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper are orchestrating a poetic dialogue between two material lineages: the sacred geometry of Kuba textiles from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the quiet reverence of Yoshino cedar, a wood long cherished in Japanese spiritual life. Carved during a residency at architect Go Hasegawa’s cedar house while Burks and Leiper were artists in residence at Space Un, the ten sculptures consist of byōbu screens, totemic pillars, and shoji-like forms. Accompanying the sculptures is the documentary In Search of Kuba, which chronicles the duo’s journey to Kinshasa and research into the contemporary landscape of the Kuba arts during a trip over the summer.
September 6 – October 26
4. “40 Ans de Découvertes” at Galerie Gastou | Paris
Founded in 1985 by the late French dealer Yves Gastou, Galerie Gastou helped define a bold, eclectic vision of 20th-century decorative arts—pairing Baroque fantasy with radical design by the likes of Shiro Kuramata, Ettore Sottsass, and Ron Arad. The Rue Bonaparte dealer’s latest exhibition retraces that singular trajectory through a curated assortment of rare discoveries and landmark acquisitions such as the offbeat Proust cabinet by Alessandro Mendini and a carapace-shaped lacquered sideboard by François Cante-Pacos. Now led by his son, Victor, who worked under Yves for 15 years, the gallery continues to champion radical works that defy easy categorization with the same curiosity and passion.
September 4 – October 4
5. “Intrecci-Intertwinings” at Capuchin Convent | Puglia
Set inside a weatherworn 17th-century Capuchin monastery in the heart of Salento, this breathtaking group show casts local materials and traditions in a contemporary light. Winding through frescoed chapels, vaulted corridors, and sun-bleached cloisters, the show unfolds as a meditation on landscape and craft in a singular setting. Daniele Papuli layers reclaimed paper into rippling sculptural compositions. Marco Guazzini reimagines olive-harvesting nets as textured vases. Andrea Vitti repurposes Xylella-stricken olive wood into quiet, poetic objects. Many of the works, including a mirror by Tipstudio made from Salento earth and a tapestry woven with Anna Lucia Rizzello, were created on-site during artist residencies or in collaboration with local artisans.
August 30 – September 14
6. “Daichiro Shinjo and Jonathan Cross” at Blunk Space | Point Reyes Station, CA
From the fluid brushwork of Daichiro Shinjo to the rugged, fire-kissed ceramics of Jonathan Cross, this quietly powerful exhibition captures the enduring resonance of JB Blunk’s legacy. Shinjo, steeped in the tradition of Okinawan calligraphy, created gestural ink paintings during his residency at the Blunk House—some rendered outdoors on unstretched canvas, absorbing traces of sun, dirt, and wind. Cross, working in the High Desert, shaped hulking angular ceramics from clay excavated near Blunk’s familiar grounds in Nicaso and Tocaloma. Their stratified forms echo geologic time; salt and ash leave volatile imprints on the surface. Though drawn from vastly different landscapes and creative traditions, both artists intuitively share Blunk’s belief in the primacy of material and in letting place and process guide form.
September 6 – October 18
7. “Crockery by Max Lamb + 1882 Ltd.” at Gallery Fumi | London
Don’t tell Max Lamb that ceramic is too delicate to sit on. In his latest outing with Gallery Fumi, the British designer collaborates with 1882 Ltd. to transform slip-cast earthenware into hulking chairs and stools that read like primal sculptures. “Ceramic furniture is so rare,” Lamb says. “I wanted to explore its potential not just as a sculptural material, but as a material capable of supporting the human form.” He eschewed digital 3D models entirely, hand-chipping at solid blocks of plaster with a stonemason’s chisel to preserve each nick and gouge in clay. Fired at 1,140°C after a three-week drying period, the dense, angular forms undergo a demanding production process involving 23 potters at 1882 Ltd., where every stage—casting, demolding, drying, firing—carries a high risk of failure and requires exacting control.
September 11 – September 30
8. “Constructions Modulaires: Une Syntaxe Adélie Ducasse—Rino Claessens” at Galerie Scene Ouverte | Paris
Adélie Ducasse and Rino Claessens treat modular ceramics as a language defined by structure and open to constant reinvention. Claessens builds bolt-fastened modules—crosses, corners, and linear segments—in brushed stoneware to resemble scaffolds or skeletal frameworks. Fired separately and assembled by hand, each carries the trace of its making, their sponged surfaces revealing tones of earth and ash. Ducasse brings a kinetic counterpoint, stacking bulbous forms and flat planes in vivid cobalt, coral, lemon, and lavender hues. Her compositions rhythmically blend vibrant geometries in a playful, puzzle-like approach to color and structure. Together, their works animate space through precise construction and richly textured, handcrafted form.
From September 3
9. “Studio Vit: Light Carries Information from Stars to the Cells in Our Bodies” at Etage Projects | Copenhagen
Ten years after their debut at Etage Projects, Studio Vit returns with a cerebral body of work that crystallizes light into sculptural luminaires. The Swedish-British duo presents aluminum floor lamps that resemble lightning strikes frozen mid-bolt and pendants whose meteor-like forms echo both cosmic debris and industrial castings. Each piece is paired with handwritten texts that reflect on the passage of light, from distant stars to microscopic cells. The exhibition marks a decade-long evolution of the studio’s practice, introducing materials like cast aluminum and shifting focus from geometric balance to more expressive, elemental forms that evoke natural forces and celestial phenomena.
August 22 – October 25