Our favourite pieces at PAD are going back to the future

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Back to the future

Sculptor Maurice Calka’s fibreglass Boomerang desk was produced circa 1969 by Leleu-Deshays, which released an advert encouraging clients to order a phone, intercom and TV alongside it. On show at the Portuondo Gallery (POA), it looks just as modern today.

Galactic glow 

These free-blown glass vessels by British artist Peter Layton are part of his Aurora collection, which is inspired by the Northern Lights and “captures the ethereal dance of colours in the night sky.” Part of Layton’s showcase, they are priced at £7,000 for the pair.

Cutting edge

Bryan O’Sullivan Studio’s future vision includes the limited-edition Areca bench crafted with a nickel-plated cast aluminium frame and an upholstered seat in Toyine Sellers’ Phinda Ré Vingt-Cinq fabric. There are 28 pieces, priced at £15,500 each.

High suspense

These Duck sleeper chairs were designed in the 1960s by Christian Adam, known for his highly modern furniture. The pieces are formed out of a metal structure that is then covered in wool fabric by Maison Pierre Frey. POA at Galerie Meubles et Lumières.

Defying gravity

Among the line-up at Objects with Narratives is Mircea Anghel’s Lose Control table. It features a plank of zazange wood and a metal spike that has been subjected to controlled detonations (from €50,000).

Game boy

Multidisciplinary designer Taras Yoom has been bringing his imaginary Yoomoota Universe to life since 2020. The Long Chair is inspired by creatures from Yoomoota’s Planet of Errors, and draws on Yoom’s childhood love for gaming ($9,500).

Mushroom effect

This brushed-lacquer mushroom-shaped lamp designed by Pierre Charrié and on show at Spazio Nobile was developed in an atelier in Hanoi, Vietnam (€4,000). The wooden dome is coated in glossy lacquer that is applied in more than 20 stages over three months. 

Oval office

At 88 Gallery, the Bird’s Egg table merges two ovoid shapes to “symbolise continuity and rebirth in its most primordial form”, says Chilean designer Abel Cárcamo. The sculpture is cast in bronze for a tactile gold and black finish (£15,000).

Silver surfer

Linde Freya Tangelder, founder of Destroyers/Builders, reinvented the form of metal repoussé to create this Slabs low table at æquō gallery (£16,500). She enveloped hand-carved teak blocks in German silver, then had them welded together.

Surface value

For his stoneware Accumulation chair on show at Sarah Myerscough Gallery, Luke Fuller took inspiration from the traditional manufacturing process of handmade bricks, throwing clay into wooden formers and layering it to form a craggy surface (£10,400).

Burst forth

For her Mirage wall lamp, designer and decorator Stéphanie Coutas employed the centuries-old craft of straw marquetry to create iridescent patterns that burst like stars behind a polished alabaster tube of light (€7,500).

Ahead of the curve

Part of Axel Chay’s new furniture collection, the Calade sofa, shown at Pradier-Jeauneau, is inspired by his hometown La Calade – a warm, urban neighbourhood overlooking an industrial harbour in Marseille. The bean-shaped seat, with walnut-stained oak structure (€31,200), is upholstered in ochre mohair fabric from Kirkby.

New wave

There is an array of otherworldly lights at 88 Gallery. These colourful Ondulation wall sculptures designed by Lila Farget (from £6,300) are made in cast glass and bronze to create repeating ripples as if formed by a drop of water.

Alien life

At Daguet-Bresson simple forms take on an extraterrestrial aesthetic. Claire Lindner’s biomorphic Going Deep Red sculpture is matte-glazed to create a powdery texture, saturated in bold colour gradients (€6,800). 

PAD London, Collectible Design Fair, 8 to 13 October at Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London W1, padesignart.com