LONDON.- The 12th edition of PAD London attracted a record attendance of 27,400 visitors to Berkeley Square and achieved strong sales between 1-7 October, reinforcing its position as London’s leading art and design fair. Encompassing design, decorative arts, modern art, jewellery, tribal art and antiquities, 68 expert galleries showcased outstanding presentations across genres and periods featuring historical masterpieces alongside innovative new works premiered at the fair. The Collectors Preview provided a spectacular start to a dynamic week, with instant major sales and key international collectors hitting Berkeley Square from Monday morning onwards. Participating galleries were enthused by the high quality of collectors and design professionals visiting the fair, unanimously reporting meeting a significant number of new buyers, especially from the United States, Russia, Middle East and Europe. They also praised the fair’s unique location in Mayfair.

20th century design specialist Alexandre Guillemain from Paris reported a sold-out booth on the first night. Amongst the works snapped up by an international set of collectors, architects and interior designers are three pieces by George Nakashima, an Alexandre Calder tapestry and a Vladimir Kagan sofa. Portuondo also noted significant sales, including two rare Gio Ponti chairs and a Max Ingrand ceiling light that were acquired each for five-figure sums.

Modern art dealers such as Vertes sold two major paintings for six-figures on the Collectors Preview and additional works throughout the week including a sought-after Pumpkin painting by Yayoi Kusama for £250,000 and Tom Wesselmann’s Study for Pat Nude from 1979 in the region of £330,000. Parisian expert Hélène Bailly enjoyed a week of strong sales and two works were acquired on the first night, including a ravishing ceramic work by Picasso and a Hans Hartung painting, both in the €100,000-200,000 range. Robin Katz was also very pleased with the exceptional quality of collectors and confirmed important sales.

Achille Salvagni’s inaugural participation at PAD London saw sales across their portfolio. The fair provided an opportunity to close existing negotiations including important sales to private collectors in India (a pair of Nerone cabinets, €110,000 each), the UAE (Maasai Chair, €23,000) and Europe (Sahara Loveseat, €55,000) as well as respected designers working on projects spanning Australasia, The Americas and the Middle East (Spider Blue, €86,000).

Another new exhibitor, Veta Stefanidou Tsoukala, secured remarkable sales throughout the week from €8,000 to €100,000 including hew own designs such as a cabinet de curiosité and a pair of chairs. A Paul Evans table and pair of wall lights by Carl Springer were also snapped up and all the editions of photographs by Olivier Dassault sold out.

Irish designer Sasha Sykes received tremendous attention at Peter Petrou who sold her impressive Gyre (From the Sea) screen to an American collector on Tuesday and received important bespoke commissions from interior designers and architects.

Almost all editions of Arthur Hoffner’s Fountain were sold at Sèvres and the eye-catching Evergreen cabinet by Emanuela Crotti fetched €33,000 at Rossana Orlandi. Priveekollektie placed contemporary design works including Alex Chinneck’s sculptural pieces in museum and private collections. Maria Wettergren also reported a very successful year and sold pieces as of the first night including tables by Danish designer and master cabinetmaker Rasmus Fenhann.

Collectable jewellery was under the spotlight this year at PAD London, with 9 exhibitors highlighting the interdisciplinary dialogue between art, design and jewellery design and creating cross-collecting opportunities. Dazzling sales happened throughout the week across contemporary jewellery designers and historical jewellery galleries.

Historical design dealers reported robust sales, such as Blairman who was enthusiastic with the sales of a range of furniture and works of art from designers including Christopher Dresser and Charles Rennie Mackintosh to primarily new collectors from Europe. First-time exhibitor Robert Zehil, the internationally recognised Art Nouveau specialist, stated that he has met more collectors during the PAD Collectors Preview than throughout an entire year at their gallery in Monaco.

African and Pre-Columbian art continue to inspire established and emerging collectors. Amongst the dealers in this category, third generation tribal art expert Lucas Ratton was thrilled with the fair and the level of rising enthusiasm for African art. He sold pieces from €10,000 to €250,000 to existing and new collectors, including a stunning Dogon statue from late 18th-early 19th century. He also loaned works to the PAD Prize-winning booth of Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

Winners of the 2018 PAD Prize were announced on 1st of October after careful deliberation by the esteemed judging panel co-chaired by Yana Peel and Francis Sultana. The ‘Best Stand’ was awarded to Carpenters Workshop Gallery, who devised an immersive exhibition imagined floorto-ceiling by French designer Ingrid Donat. Reflecting her vision of a tribal art collector’s apartment, the stand featured her own sculptural furniture as well as other works selected by Donat. The prize for ‘Best Contemporary Design’ was presented to French designer Etienne Moyat for Arabesque, an intricate carved wood panel at Negropontes. The prize for ‘Best 20th Century Design’ went to This Mortal Coil (1993), the iconic spiral bookshelf by Ron Arad offered by first-time exhibitor 18 Davies Street.

PAD will launch PAD Monaco in April 2019, confirming its position as Europe’s leading crosscollecting fair group with four prime locations in London, Paris, Geneva and Monte-Carlo.