Autumn Leaves and a Tulip-inspired Chair: Highlights from Collect

Collect art fair returned to London this February, showcasing contemporary work from 40 galleries from across the globe set against the historical backdrop of Somerset House on the banks of the Thames. Along with the galleries and art organisations, 11 artists displayed their bold, craft-led installations at Collect Open. The fair’s new director, TF Chan, has presented and curated a cohesive journey of discovery at this year’s show. 

Fluvii artist Alice Walton was represented at Collect by Caroline Fisher Projects. Her ceramic works explore the movement of gathered leaf eddies and speckling on natural lichens. Three of the four works focus on autumnal leaves: Abscission, Leaf Fall and Leaf Eddy, documenting the moments when swirling leaves fall from trees and as they settle, their colours against a white autumnal sky are minutely observed by Alice in porcelain.

Jo Grogan also exhibited at Collect, represented by the House of Bandits by Sarabande. Her piece, Best Chair, playfully reimagines the clash between the Aesthetic and Arts & Crafts movements, while reflecting on the cultural weight of the treasured — yet rarely used — family furniture.  The life-size chair cloaked in a Delftware-inspired ceramic mosaic echoes the beauty of the 17th-century Tulipiere vase, with hand-carved limewood tulips blooming across its surface, blurring the line between stillness and vitality.

This year’s winner of the 7th annual Brookfield Properties Craft Award in recognition of outstanding work was Darcey Flemming, who is known for transforming discarded baling twine into captivating sculptural works. Best display went to Cavaliero Finn for their Verdant Pulse installation.