Last week, Mayfair played host to one of London’s leading fairs for 20^th Century art, design and decorative arts, PAD London. Lasting for a week, and ending yesterday, Helen Green Design lists our top picks from the fair.

PAD London showcases significant art galleries from major cities across Europe, North America and Asia, offering some of the most desired and iconic works. It is a place to discover and acquire new pieces of museum quality, with distinctive history, or find a new artist you may not have seen before.

“PAD cultivates eclecticism, authenticity and connoisseurship with passion and flair. Its boutique setting is designed to inspire collectors, art consultants, museum experts, interiors specialists, design practitioners and the public alike, making PAD the only event of its kind.”

Top Picks from PAD London 2019

Seed Light by Vezzini & Chen

Vezzini & Chen is one of our favourite ceramic and glass designers, and we are fortunate to have some of their pieces in our studio including lighting and decorative bar tray glasses (see images below). Their work is defined by an artful combination of hand carved ceramics and blown glass. Vezzini & Chen cross between functional and conceptual, with the design duo creating sculptural hand-crafted lighting, glassware, interior accessories and installation pieces.

At PAD London Vezzini & Chen showcased their first wall-based latest lighting collection; Seed Light. Seed Light is born from Vezzini and Chen’s interest in the unique forms of seeds and each blown glass semi-sphere is carved in half with different textures. Each lamp, like every seed is distinctive, and these lights are also a representative of the Sun and how important its light is for the growth of any living form on our planet.

Chandelier by designer Nacho Carbonell

Carbonell is known for his tactile approach to sculpture, playing with texture, experimental techniques, and natural materials. His approach is unique, seeing objects as ‘living organisms’ that come alive and surprise you with their behaviour. For Carbonnel forming a relationship with his work is integral – he creates objects with his hands in order to impart something of his personality to them. He describes his pieces as “communicative objects that arouse one’s feelings and imagination… that allow you to escape everyday life.”

Ceramics by Karen Swami

Karen Swami plays with a range of materials, oxygen and fire, to create individual ceramic pieces. Embracing sandstone and earthenware, she transcends the what may have been done before and refines shapes and enhances colours. The pots that Swami creates become a work of art. Her motto is “Thoughts create matter”.

In this particular ceramic piece, Swami has used a pewter and gold application. Pewter is an alloy of tin, the fourth most valuable metal, and small quantities of other metals such as bismuth, antimony, or copper. Pewter in Britain dates from the 2nd century AD, and it is thought to have been introduced by the Romans.