Once upon a time admirers of Libby Sellers were made to follow her, like 1990s ravers, to temporary locations across London, where she would hold exhibitions featuring Europe's most progressive designers. She championed Stuart Haygarth, Moritz Waldemeyer and Julia Lohmann at her Exhibition Road location during the 2007 London Design Festival; and last year she hosted Fabien Cappello's recycled-wood Christmas Tree Project in Hyde Park Corner before - poof - disappearing once again.
This month, however, the former Design Museum curator is finally settling down, in a permanent space on London's Berners Street. Her inaugural exhibitions continue her provocative tradition. Until 8 October she will devote a swath of the new space to Formafantasma, a duo of Eindhoven-based Italian designers who explore the complex cultural relationship between southern Italy and colonial Africa.
'It is the perfect show to open with,' says Sellers, 'because it sets the benchmark for what I hope my forthcoming exhibitions will be able to do - reveal beautifully made but very political and social work carrying a deep narrative and many layers.' Formafantasma's Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin will show not only their acclaimed ceramics series but also their mounted mohair textiles, each depicting a different Italian colony in Africa.
Sellers also invites Belgian gallerist Caroline Van Hoek to guest-curate Woods, the work of 21 jewellery artists designed exclusively in wood. The buffed-wood beads beautifully echo the heritage theme of the Formafantasma show, yet they seem appropriately up to date for a 2011 London Design Festival.
Formafantasma's Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, both Italian born, explore the relationship between southern Italy and colonial Africa in their work
Their critically acclaimed 'Moulding Tradition' ceramics have features of Italian and North African ceramic traditions...
... while their mohair textiles, also currently being show at the gallery, each depict a different Italian colony in Africa
A detail of one of the mohair works – this one representing Tripoli
The Formafantasma exhibit runs until 8 October
ADDRESS
Gallery Libby Sellers
Ground Floor
41-42 Berners Street
London W1
-
‘120 years of artistry, of character’: How Paula Gerbase is breathing new life into historic Danish design house Georg JensenPaula Gerbase, the newly instated creative director of Georg Jensen, speaks to Wallpaper* about bringing the 120-year-old silversmith into a new era
-
For designer and craftsman Kodai Iwamoto 'good design should be able to speak for itself'In a rapidly changing world, the route designers take to discover their calling is increasingly circuitous. Here we speak to Kodai Iwamoto about the interconnectedness of design, communication and culture
-
Wallpaper* and Cartier’s guide to Miami
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekA week in the world of Wallpaper*. Here's how our editors have been entertaining themselves in the run up to Christmas
-
Love, melancholy and domesticity: Anna Calleja is a painter to watchAnna Calleja explores everyday themes in her exhibition, ‘One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night’, at Sim Smith, London
-
Ndayé Kouagou speaks the language of the chaotic social media influencer in LondonNdayé Kouagou celebrates meandering incoherence with an exhibition, ‘A Message for Everybody’, at Gathering in London
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekA snowy Swiss Alpine sleepover, a design book fest in Milan, and a night with Steve Coogan in London – our editors' out-of-hours adventures this week
-
Discover psychedelic landscapes and mind-bending art at London’s Tate Modern'Electric Dreams' at the Tate encompasses the period from the 1950s to the beginning of the internet era
-
From activism and capitalism to club culture and subculture, a new exhibition offers a snapshot of 1980s BritainThe turbulence of a colourful decade, as seen through the lens of a diverse community of photographers, collectives and publications, is on show at Tate Britain until May 2025
-
Meet Kenia Almaraz Murillo, the artist rethinking weavingKenia Almaraz Murillo draws on the new and the traditional in her exhibition 'Andean Cosmovision' at London's Waddington Custot
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary artAs Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
