Every October a white tent goes up on Berkeley Square, and the most extraordinary objects in the world go inside it. The art at PAD London this year was absolutely insane. Everybody who matters in interiors was there, because PAD is where you come for the jewels of the design world.
Within hours of opening, a Carlo Bugatti piece had sold, with a whisper of around a quarter of a million pounds. The writing desk and chair on that stand are pure theatre: ebonised wood, inlaid metal, Moorish arches, a vellum-backed seat and calligraphy-like inlay running across every surface. They were made over a hundred years ago and are still wilder than anything designed this year.
Carlo Bugatti writing desk with matching side chair, made in Milan around 1895–1900
The great game
Half the fun of PAD is the people-watching, and this year it was a sport in itself. Over at Frieze in Regent’s Park the crowds were just as thick, and the same quiet game was being played in both tents.
The gallerists were working out who the collectors were. The fairs were working out who the journalists were. Everyone was trying to spot the ones with the deep bank balances, and they rarely look the part. The woman in trainers may well buy the Bugatti. The man in the beautiful suit may simply be admiring the view.
My advice: whichever category you fall into, collector, critic, decorator or simply curious, soak it all up. The atmosphere is half the show.
Nacho Carbonell “tree lamp” from his famous cocoon series.
What stopped me in my tracks
Nacho Carbonell’s tree light. A twisting bronze trunk rises from a rock, and the canopy is a glowing cloud of mesh, pigment and texture. It’s half sculpture, half lamp, and completely magical. Opposite it stood a cabinet clad in broken shards of cobalt glaze. Together they made a room I wanted to move into.
An original Osvaldo Borsani dining table
An original Osvaldo Borsani dining table in exquisite condition, its edge banded with faceted golden glass that catches the light like jewellery. This is Italian mid-century at its most glamorous.
A Calder tapestry, with his flying boomerang shapes in red, black, blue and yellow woven in wool. It’s joyful and graphic, and would lift any wall.
A Brazilian rosewood coffee table of curved petals around a central point, in the spirit of Jorge Zalszupin, with a rough-hewn ceramic vessel sitting on top. The pairing was perfect: polished and primitive in the same glance.
Valeriya Isyak
A wall work made entirely of porcelain: thousands of tiny hand-formed pieces swirling like fur or feathers, darkening at the centre like a storm. You have to stand close to believe it.
Willy Rizzo, pink backgammon table.
Willy Rizzo, pink backgammon table. The Italian designer and celebrity photographer of 1960s–70s jet-set glamour.
A full-on games room in hot pink: a suede backgammon table with chrome edges, mother-of-pearl counters and matching chairs, set against raspberry walls. It’s 1970s Riviera glamour, and I loved every inch.
Fernando Botero: a seated woman in a coral dress, painted in 2017
And then the masters. There was a late Picasso portrait in coral, blush and blue, and a Fernando Botero: a magnificent seated woman in coral against a cobalt curtain, all his trademark volume and wit. There was also a Basquiat, and a serene white head by Jaume Plensa in front of Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh chairs.
The stands to know
Voena won Best Booth on its PAD debut, with a Lucio Fontana fixed dramatically to the ceiling. Jousse Entreprise won the Contemporary Prize with Marc Newson’s Chop Chop table, and Meubles et Lumières took the Historical Design Prize with Flemming Agger’s glorious 1967 Kronen sofa.
Elsewhere, Sarah Myerscough Gallery showed Laura Ellen Bacon’s woven willow, Charles Burnand had Kyeok Kim’s copper-wire chandelier, delicate as a spider’s web, and Pulp had Shiro Kuramata and Hilton McConnico’s Cactus chair. Among the newcomers, Boketto, Lloyd Choi Gallery and Bessa Pereira’s Brazilian modernism all felt fresh.
Why it matters for your home
PAD is where I hunt for my clients. A house becomes a masterpiece through one or two objects with real soul, not through more furniture: the one-off light, the sculptural table, the piece nobody else will have. That’s what I do, and this is where I find them.
Don’t be put off by the headline prices. Look closely and you’ll find smaller treasures, such as a beautiful ceramic, a vintage lamp or a side table from a young maker, at prices that won’t need a second mortgage. Ask the dealers. They’re often as excited about a modest piece as they are about the stars of the stand.
The last word
Frieze has the buzz. PAD has the soul. If you care about how a home feels, Berkeley Square is where you go.
PAD London, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, W1. 13–18 October 2026.
FRIEZE LONDON & FRIEZE MASTERS
14–18 October 2026
The Regent’s Park, London
Frieze London
South end of the park, entrance at Park Square West, London NW1 4LL
Frieze Masters
Gloucester Green, north-east corner of the park (near London Zoo), London NW1 4HA
Luiza Gibb is an art expert, interior designer and Premier’s art columnist. Through Luiza Gibb Interiors, she sources and curates art and design for private homes.
Art, culture and events are featured in a multi-page guide in every edition of Premier Magazine. Browse the latest edition HERE
