Object Rotterdam developing into force to be reckoned with

It was just the second edition of cutting-edge design fair Object Rotterdam, which wrapped up as a satellite to ArtRotterdam on February 7, but according to a closing report released this week, it attracted 12,000 visitors that were very willing to shop.

Only 20 galleries, mainly from the Netherlands, were exhibiting - an event size that can be compared to the Art & Design Pavilion in London - but media met the new addition to the design agenda with enthusiasm, and apparently, so did buyers.

Diana Stigter of Diana Stigter Gallery in Amsterdam said: "It is pleasant to have sold one or more works from all artists we brought to the fair."

A report issued by Object Rotterdam also cites the Gallery Ron Mandos (Amsterdam/ Rotterdam, Netherlands), Christina Wilson Gallery (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Gallery Anna Klinkhammer (Dusseldorf, Germany) as being very content with the outcome of the event, selling design art of up to €30,000 per piece.

A highlight of the fair, apart from the illy prize which this time went to Dutch artist Lotte Geeven, was a project called Total Table Design, commissioned by the Audax Textile Museum, which featured everything from cutlery to table linen designed by Kiki van Eijk and Scholten & Baijings. The project will travel to the Saloni in Milan in March.

Object Rotterdam, which organizers describe as the international event for "autonomous design," which roughly means limited-edition, cutting-edge items between art and design, will take place next year February 3-6.

http://www.objectrotterdam.nl