Cover Salone Raritas made its debut at Milan Design Week’s Salone del Mobile, bringing together 28 galleries from 12 countries
Salone Raritas made its debut at Milan Design Week’s Salone del Mobile, bringing together 28 galleries from 12 countries
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Dedicated to one-off works, limited editions and historic pieces, Salone Raritas at Milan Design Week signals a growing appetite for objects valued as much for their cultural significance as for their function
Where does design end and art begin? The answers vary, and few places illustrated that spectrum as vividly as Salone Raritas, a new exhibition that debuted at the 64th edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano in April, during Milan Design Week.
The exhibition halls of the world’s leading furniture fair often signal the stature of the brands they contain. Pavilions 9 and 11 are traditionally occupied by some of the industry’s most established names—the blue-chip players of the furniture world, if you will, including Minotti, Porada and the recently returning B&B Italia. The decision to introduce a new curated showcase within Pavilion 9 therefore spoke volumes about the importance the organisers placed on collectible design and its growing relevance to the wider interiors industry.
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Above The exhibition was designed by Formafantasma
The exhibition was designed by Formafantasma
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The title of the showcase draws from the Latin word “raritas”, meaning rarity or preciousness, though it proposed a broader understanding of what makes an object exceptional. Scarcity is only one part of the equation. Equally important are the depth of thought, mastery of material and cultural narratives embedded in each piece. Here, exhibitors were presented as galleries, and the works on view shared the attributes that define rarity: signed and numbered editions, one-off pieces, antiques and experimental objects; and all involved rigorous craftsmanship.
Above Salone Raritas brought together 28 galleries from 12 countries
Salone Raritas brought together 28 galleries from 12 countries
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Designed by the Milan- and Rotterdam-based studio Formafantasma and curated by Annalisa Rosso, editorial and cultural director of Salone del Mobile.Milano, Salone Raritas brought together 28 galleries from 12 countries. Participants ranged from established names to exciting emerging voices, offering a tightly edited survey of works that occupy the fertile territory between art, architecture and design. Here are some highlights from Milan Design Week.
Architecture origins
Several presentations demonstrated how collectible design has become a laboratory for architects to distil ideas about structure, material and space into objects of intimate scale.
Marta Sala Éditions x Herzog & de Meuron
Above Marta Sala Éditions x Herzog & de Meuron
Marta Sala Éditions x Herzog & de Meuron
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La Magie du Bois explored wood as both structure and design language. Produced by Marta Sala Éditions, the collection translated the Swiss architects’ characteristic rigour and precision into collectible pieces that treated timber as an architectural medium rather than a mere material.
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Galerie Zippenfenig
Above Galerie Zippenfenig
Galerie Zippenfenig
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Galerie Zippenfenig presented Gerngross: Archiquant, a focused exhibition curated by Stephan Hamel and centred on the work of Austrian architect and artist Heidulf Gerngross. The presentation explored his long-running Archiquanten concept, translating architectural proportion and structural logic into collectible objects.
Neutra x Zaha Hadid Architects
Above Neutra x Zaha Hadid Architects
Neutra x Zaha Hadid Architects
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In Erosion, Zaha Hadid Architects transformed geological processes into fluid, sculptural stone forms that pay tribute to the late legendary architect’s signature form. Produced by Neutra, the pieces condensed the studio’s dynamic architectural language into collectible objects carved from marble and other natural stones.
Museum quality
Several presentations carried the gravitas of institutional exhibitions, bringing together historically significant works and collectible pieces that would not look out of place in a major museum.
Botticelli Antichità & Alessandra Di Castro
Above Botticelli Antichità & Alessandra Di Castro
Botticelli Antichità & Alessandra Di Castro
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Botticelli Antichità, founded in Florence in 1959 and specialising in ancient sculpture, joined forces with Alessandra Di Castro, whose Roman gallery draws on five generations of art dealing, for Free Symmetries, Balanced Lightness, a presentation that showcased historical artworks and decorative objects spanning several centuries of Italian art.
Mercado Moderno
Above Mercado Moderno
Mercado Moderno
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Founded in Rio de Janeiro in 2001, Mercado Moderno presented the Brazilian Design: Modern to Contemporary showcase. The exhibition traced the country’s design lineage from mid-century masters to contemporary makers, with objects including armchairs that reflect the lush, sculptural character of Brazilian tropical modernism.
Nilufar
Above Nilufar
Nilufar
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For more than four decades, Nilufar founder Nina Yashar has helped shape the market for collectible design. At Salone Raritas, she juxtaposed twentieth-century design icons with contemporary works, demonstrating the gallery’s signature ability to place historical and emerging voices in a compelling dialogue.
Material thinking
Several exhibitors used collectible design to push familiar materials into unexpected territory, transforming porcelain, glass, resin and bronze into limited-edition objects that rewarded close inspection.
Hering Berlin
Above Hering Berlin
Hering Berlin
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In Equinox I, ceramic mastercraftswoman Stefanie Hering collaborated with Austrian artist Hans Weigand to create a collectible installation centred on a monumental table, six unglazed bisque porcelain plates and custom porcelain lighting.
Above A closer look at the porcelain plates
Above The plates bore Weigand’s imagery in cobalt blue and were issued in boxed editions of 24
A closer look at the porcelain plates
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The plates bore Weigand’s imagery in cobalt blue and were issued in boxed editions of 24, while the table itself was produced in an edition of five. Together, the works transformed familiar domestic archetypes into what Hering described as “cultural carriers of image, ritual and memory.”
Zaza Maison
Above Zaza Maison
Zaza Maison
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Saudi design house Zaza Maizon presented The Vitturi Chair and Tawāshuj, sculptural works crafted in mirror-polished stainless steel. Designed by Abdulaziz Khalid Al Tayyash, the pieces translated the gestures and landscapes of the Arabian Peninsula into highly reflective objects that shifted with light and movement.
Salviati x Draga & Aurel
Above Salviati x Draga & Aurel
Salviati x Draga & Aurel
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The historic Murano glassmaker Salviati partnered with Draga & Aurel on Affinity in Light, a series of sculptural lamps that explored transparency, colour and illumination. Traditional Venetian techniques such as pulegoso and crackle glass were used to produce forms that appeared both ancient and strikingly contemporary.
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Jakarta-born, Bandung-raised and Singapore-based, Asih Jenie trained in Visual Communication Design at Bandung Institute of Technology and Architecture at Parahyangan Catholic University. She brings both rigour and heart to design journalism, infused with a distinct Southeast Asian voice.
As a child, she doodled on the edges of her schoolbooks and never outgrew her fascination with all things well-made and well-told. Her 15-year career spans editorial roles and bylines in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Australia, across spatial design titles such as Dwell Asia, Cubes, Design Anthology, Habitus Living, and Home & Decor.
After a brief stint in public relations, she returned to publishing in 2023 to lead Tatler Homes Singapore, where she continues to tell stories about how we shape the spaces that shape us.
