Collect at Somerset House

“Contemporary craft is in greater demand than ever before” declares the organizer, the Crafts Council, for the 19^th edition of Collect. The Council emphasizes that Collect offers exceptional opportunities to acquire museum-quality work by living artists created in the last five years, often expressly for the fair. The participants include nearly 40 specialized galleries from around the world, representing more than 400 top artists. Previews on March 1 and 2.

Ussade (101) by Anne-Laure Cano, Stoneware and porcelain, 2022. Represented by 155a Gallery. Photo Beth Evans, stylist Laura Fulmine.

With its landmark architecture, Somerset House provides a handsome setting for the exhibition of contemporary crafts in an impressive interior space. The artworks on display include ceramics, glass, lacquer, textiles, fibers, wood, paper, resin, plastics, and reused and recycled materials. The spectrum ranges from jewelry, through countless diverse objects, to artistic furniture.

Complementing Collect, which attracted more than 9,000 visitors in 2022, all works will also be available to view and purchase online via Artsy.net from March 1 to 12, 2023. Artsy.net calls Collect one of its most successful virtual fairs. Complementing Collect Open are 14 installations by individual artists and collectives from the U.S., Poland and across the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. Collect’s lecture program will be streamed live. The director of the fair is Isobel Dennis.

New galleries at Collect

BR Gallery is the first contemporary gallery in China to focus exclusively on metalwork, including vessels, jewelry, objects and installations. One example is Yu Zhang, whose work represents the minority Dai culture. Also new are Siat Gallery from South Korea and Charles Burnand Gallery, England. Artists from Africa and South Korea are strongly represented this year.

Building on the success of East Asian ceramics in previous years, Collect is now seeing much more glass at the fair. For next year, the fair will feature a selection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean artists from the “Expanding Horizons” exhibition at the International Festival of Glass.