Among the many gallery fairs that dot the calendar, few events are as audacious as Collectible. Strictly focused on 21st-century collectible furnishings created by a fresh crop of independent talents, the show is rooted in the art and design scene of Brussels, where it was founded in 2017. The fair has extended its reach to New York in 2023, mounting annual showcases that fill a gap in the US for avant-garde design and limited-edition works that are inherently artistic and experimental. ‘The enthusiasm of the community and audience here has affirmed our place in the city,’ says fair co-founder Liv Vaisberg.
This year, Collectible New York has moved to a November time slot, positioning itself as a sharp counterpoint to blue-chip gallery fair Salon Art + Design and hospitality showcase BDNY. This weekend’s showing, on view today through 8 November, is taking place in the old Upper East Side AMC Orpheum 7 cinema, just before it gets turned into an outpost of the upscale food market Happier Grocery. We’ve taken the opportunity to do some shopping of our own (window shopping, that is) by perusing this year's offering, which includes work by 110 talents from 27 countries. Here are some of the best things we spotted at Collectible New York 2026.
Material Experimentation Galore
One of the prevailing tropes at the fair, on view in the former movie theatre's stripped-back projection booths and screening rooms, is fresh takes on materials, seen in sculptural furnishings produced in clay, stone, wood and metal.
New York practice Streicher Goods displayed a new collection of glazed ceramic pieces. Georgian practice Studio Gypsandconcrete, in a presentation from upstate New York gallery Jamieri, introduced bent stainless-steel mirrors that make clever use of the reflected material.
An ethereal wallpiece by Enjuli Bernstein presented by Colony
The venue's raw, double-height volumes also showcase pictorial tapestries woven from unexpected materials by Anjuli Bernstein; painted bark sconces from Boym Partners; and lamps that contained perfumes that evoke different people, a novel project called Scentry designed by Louis Filosa. Ka’b Juun, New York’s first permanent Mexican design gallery, is showcasing new works that star materials endemic to the country.
Next-Gen Heirlooms
One of Faye Hadfield's toothy ceramics
Modern heirlooms is another through line at the fair – what makes a work valuable enough to be passed through the generations? Coryander Friend, founder of Montana-based gallery Placed, argues that today’s collectible design talents are part of a fourth industrial revolution, and learn different skill sets on their own or through training. To sustain their practice and authenticity, designers, as she puts it, ‘should be going baroque in order to not go broke’ – a sentiment echoed in the gallery's showing titled 'A Future for History', with Faye Hadfield's toothy ceramics; and a chainmail lampshade by Wretched Flowers.
Elsewhere, you’ll find a meticulously finished lacquer screen with jewel-like finials – a new deco-esque piece by New York’s item studio – and a room divider created using upcycled phone cords by Brooklyn-based studio Overt Cove, presented by Philadelphia cooperative gallery Dudd Haus. Industrial cues are picked up in Bunce Studio’s precision-engineered tables, benches, and shelves.
Corporate Core
Alex Tieghi-Walker, founder of downtown gallery TIWA Select, mounted the Curated section as a ‘corporate fantasy’. The vignette, called ‘Human Resources', arranges a series of office cells featuring smaller items by the likes of Tino Seubert and Adi Asia to subvert its uniformity. ‘The installation is an invitation to designers to imagine a different kind of working environment,' says Tieghi-Walker. 'One that makes room for personality, surprise and the unexpected, and where the objects around us might inspire us as much as they serve us' – a perfect synopsis of this year's fair.