The calm before the storm: the pavilion at the Jardin des Tuileries on the eve of Paris Art + Design 2017.

The hottest Spring event in France for collectors, design professionals, artists, dealers, and celebrities opens this Wednesday: Paris Art + Design 2017 (PAD). Located at the Jardin des Tuileries, just blocks from the Seine and cultural institutions of international renown, including the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, and the Pompidou Center, PAD will showcase the most talented galleries of 20th century and contemporary design—reinforcing Paris' history as the international capital of creation and refined taste.

 

Since PAD was established in the mid-1990s, it has become a mandatory stop for those with a passion for design. As organizers have said, “Every edition evolves in aim to create an unprecedented dialogue between modern art, historical and contemporary design and jewelry.” A pioneering event, PAD reinvents itself each year, anticipating aesthetic aspirations of its time, with this year's lens on Primitive art.

 

Offering an encyclopedic assortment of furniture and decorative arts by exhibitors from at least three continents, the goal of organizers is to present an "intimate cocoon," where prospective buyers can enter the personal collections of nearly 70 invited specialists who are leaders in their fields. Among the new participants in this year’s edition: Lorenz Bäumer, Thomas Bayart, Michèle Hayem, Alexandre Frédéric, Galerie 56, and Galerie Mingei.

 

The quality and presentation of the exhibiting galleries is recognized each year by the PAD Prize Jury, this year under the leadership of Marie-Laure Jousset, Honorary Curator in chief of the Design Department at the Centre Pompidou. Joined by collectors, curators, architects, and designers who comprise the jury, Jousset will present three categories: the award-winning stand, 20th-century design piece, and contemporary design piece. The awards recognize the finest display and curatorial signature of the booths and the quality and innovation of the works within.

Gallery Yves Gastou (France)
Philippe Heim (France).
Galerie Negropontes (France)
Galerie Dutko (France)

In keeping with the spirit of eclecticism, PAD is not a coherent affair so much as an artful mash-up of styles: In the display at top-left, the space is illuminated by the amber light emitted by a multi-panel screen inscribed with a semi-abstract pattern. In the foreground are some pieces of minimalist furniture and a work of contemporary sculpture with mustard-colored rings to finish the décor. In another area, top-right, we have depictions of a ringed-tailed lemur squatting on a plinth, a leopard asleep on a branch, and, above this, some birds perched in the lighting. Each room brings with it a new surprise, adding to the sense of wonder as fair-goers explore the first major design fair of the spring.

 

PAD runs from March 22-26, 2017 and is located at the Jardin des Tuileries, facing 234 rue de Rivoli, Paris. To learn more, click here.