Since 2022, the international art, design and lifestyle fair BAD+ has been forging a place for itself in Bordeaux. Last May, the second edition proved promising, despite the reduced number of Design chains. Here’s a look back at a fair that the sector will be keeping a very close eye on in the years to come.
For the past two years, Jean-Daniel Compain, former director of FIAC and a native of the region, has been celebrating the culture of wine and the art of living through an atypical fair combining contemporary art, design objects and in situ installations.
in situ
in the Bordeaux vineyards. Beyond routes arty This singular ecosystem also featured pieces from some 55 international galleries, spread over the two floors of Hangar 14, on the banks of the Garonne River. Bordeaux + Art + Design, or BAD+, is not just another fair,” exclaims Jean-Daniel Compain, “but a fair that, with its specific Art and Art de vivre positioning, has meaning and real added value.” Among the exhibitors, Dutchwoman Mia Karlova, French gallery Revel and, among others, Brazilian Galeria Modernista represented the design sector. 15% of our exhibitors offer contemporary design pieces,” adds Adrien de Rochebouët, formerly of Piasa and the fair’s artistic advisor. In the future, we want to consolidate this important lifestyle sector.
Mia Karlova relies on her fundamentals
A regular at prestigious fairs such as the PAD and the highly select Collectible in Brussels, Mia Karlova opted for solid values, offering works by designers who have made her reputation. This is my second participation in the Bordeaux fair,” explains the director. In 2022, as in 2023, its particular ecosystem in a region rich in culture, châteaux, vineyards and lovers of fine objects, have enabled us to expand our family of collectors.” On its generous stand, we noticed Dolly Blu
,
an armchair made from layers of cardboard by Czech designer Vadim Kibardin, andthe Curved sculptureschair by Dutch designer Jordan van der Ven. A functional piece, somewhere between art and design, made from a metal frame to which layers of white cement have been applied to create volume and softness. Finally the Light Box showcase, in oak, oil and bulbs, or Obi
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an armchair with an enveloping, modular design, in wood and fabric by Russian designer Olga Engel, are pieces with a typical minimalist aesthetic that have attracted a great deal of attention .
Historic Brazilian design at Galeria Modernista
Nearby, Galeria Modernista, with its new Bordeaux-based flagship, presented some of the great names of Brazilian Modernism, including Joaquim Teneiro (1906-1992), considered the father of design in the land of Samba, and Raimundo Cardoso. (1930-2006). One of the greatest Brazilian ceramists of the 20th century, he spent his entire life creating pieces such as Vase
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bearing the imprint of the skills of the pre-Columbian Marajoara people. Finally, modernist furniture by designer Sergio Rodrigues (1927-2014), like the pair of Oscar armchairs
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created for his Oca gallery in Rio de Janeiro in 1955, in Jacaranda wood and rattan cane, were also on offer.
In the realm of committed matter, the Revel gallery
Born in 2021, the young Parisian gallery, which also has a showroom in Bordeaux, defends artists who are “invisibilized” in the West, and ignores the divide between visual arts, design, collectible design and crafts. Emerging or mid-career designers, who focus on materials, their process and their history, and whose “work questions identity, gender, ecology, postcolonial cultures, cultural appropriation and migration”, according to the directors. The same applies toAnton Laborde, winner of the Prix de la Jeune Création Métiers d’Art (PJCMA) 2022, and his Cube à liqueur
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in solid maple and sycamore, a modern take on the art of marquetry. But also the ceramist Mathieu Froissard and his “imperfect beauties” such as Hold ita unique work in earthenware, enamel and lustre, shining with a thousand lights and baroque twists and turns. Among others, the Zimbabwean Xanthe Somers, spotted at Collectible 2022, was also present with
Rancid
an imposing luminaire in glazed stoneware, inspired by the way her country’s colonial history “continues to manipulate aesthetic values.
Other contemporary art stands included a bronze bull bench by Jean-Marie Fiori (Galerie Dumonteil), a silk and wool rug, and two B.C. stools.
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in brushed matte pine and leather, by architect-designer Fabrice Ausset, at Galerie Sarto .
Could Bordeaux become France’s new design capital? The Modernista and Revel galleries, which have opened a second address here, did not do so by chance. The region boasts a number of major assets – including the BAD+ fair – attracting many collectors who are keen on beautiful pieces to live in, in the realm of grands crus classés, heritage and culture. Very well represented at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs et de Design de Bordeaux, directed by Constance Rubini, a partner of the fair – like the Frac Méca and many other institutions – international contemporary design will, in the future and without a doubt, have a wonderful time on the banks of the Garonne…
Virginie Chuimer-Layen
