This series, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth, unveils the backstage of contemporary creation. Tackling various topics from personal designer processes to the position of collectible design on the global design market, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth offers different views to suit all tastes. Today we talk to Sophie Pearce from Béton Brut.

C: How do you see the relationship between late 20th century design and contemporary design? How does one feed one another?

SP: When you survey late 20th century design you can see how trends evolved in a chronology. Dealing in contemporary design also allows the gallerist to be an agent of future trend, shaping how it unfurls, while maintaining roots in the past. 

C: What dialogue are you bringing this year to COLLECTIBLE?

SP: From our contemporary designers we are launching two polished steel mirrors, one wall-mounted, one suspended, by Archive for Space. We bring a never-made-before prototype in blackened oak from Low Collection by Benni Allan. And it is David Horan’s inaugural show of ‘Paper’ collection in Europe. We present Archive for Space’s works in steel alongside earlier metalworks by Droog designer Tejo Rémy and the late Italian artist Salvino Marsura. The clean contours of Benni Allan’s cross-cut wooden stool is set in marked contrast with rough hewn textures of scorched and bleached oak works from the 1980s, by Jim Partridge and Liz Walmsley.

COLLECTIBLE: What can collectible design bring to the daily lives of the people who collect?

Sophie Pearce: The general furnishing landscape is one of ubiquity. Collectible design lets the holder create a haven of eccentricity.