A Different Kind of Design Fair

The artist Peter Shire’s rainbow-colored abstract sculptures often sell for more than the price of a modest car. But at Echo Park Pottery, his ceramics studio in Los Angeles, he also makes chunky, colorfully glazed mugs that go for under $100. Pieces from both parts of Shire’s practice will be for sale in New York next month at the new design fair Object & Thing, whose founder, Abby Bangser, a former artistic director of the Frieze art fairs, hopes to “break down the hierarchy between art and design objects by exhibiting everything equally together.” Held in the Brooklyn venue 99 Scott from May 3 to May 5, the event will showcase over 200 objects, consigned by 32 top-tier international galleries and created by a diverse range of artist-designers and designer-artists. There will be shaggy fabric-adorned chairs by the American painter Lucy Dodd, NASA-inspired vessels by the artist Tom Sachs, kachina dolls by the Navajo artists of Shiprock Santa Fe gallery, and fabric sculptures by the Brazilian artist Sonia Gomes.

Forgoing the traditional booth model, in which each gallery funds and curates its own small exhibition, the fair will instead comprise groupings of works designed to evoke the unexpected way objects are combined in real homes. “Significant booth fees mean you need to bring significantly priced pieces, but a lot of design doesn’t need to be at those prices,” explains Bangser. The fair’s artistic director, the designer Rafael de Cárdenas, has arranged the works thematically on clusters of plinths made from reusable construction materials — cardboard tubes, glass and steel — as well as in an area he refers to as “the ideal home,” a living space with a Martino Gamper console, a Marc Hundley bench and a Peter Shire shelf.

To make the fair as accessible as possible, Bangser has also invited nine design boutiques, including the Primary Essentials and Playmountain East, to set up shop in the space and sell their own wares directly, many priced below $100. While she hopes Object & Thing will inspire a new approach to engaging with art and design objects, she didn’t want to lose what she describes as the “energy and community gathering aspect” of a traditional fair. To that end, there will be a series of public panel discussions — moderated by the writer and curator Glenn Adamson — while in the venue’s garden, food will be provided by the restaurateur Andrew Tarlow. Daylight, 99 Scott’s new cafe offering natural wines and food, will open specially for the event. From May 3 through May 5, 99 Scott, New York — ALICE NEWELL-HANSON