In recent years, the term "collectible design" has become overrated and glorified, appearing in lifestyle and interior magazines, and is often misinterpreted. Questions about what is "collectible" modern design, and what makes modern masterpieces "collectible", occupied everyone who was related to this direction: architects, collectors, curators, dealers, auctioneers and collectors. These are the issues that are addressed in this article.

 

We strive for thoroughness, craftsmanship, original design and sophistication, and at the same time the "collectible ability" corresponds to the state of the market and the taste of that time. The blue crumb is found in such samples as early-production chaise lounges designed in Le Corbusier\'s atelier in the 20s and manufactured by the Swiss firm Embru-Werke AG long before they became a design icon; original plywood chairs by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, created by Gerard van de Gronekan in Utrecht; prototypes by Jean Prouv; or mid-century furniture by Isamu Noguchi, which never entered production. Fakes and copies of that type cannot be part of the "collector\'s design".

 

As the market is rapidly expanding, more and more galleries are entering this specialized, newly created territory, as leading design fairs began to showcase more modern than vintage, and as modern design replaced antiques, the process of acquiring it began to require greater understanding, knowledge and deeper awareness of what constitutes great art in design. "Good design," said interior designer Charlie Ferrer, "shows concept, exquisite craftsmanship and a strong contribution to the history of design," referring to the cabinet that Mattia Bonetti created for the Paul Kasmin Gallery. Clemens Kshentowski, the brilliant co-founder of the legendary Kreo gallery, said that for her, any collectible design item should be released in a limited edition.

 

Although the task of recognizing great designs is very important here, we must remember that the "big" design always embodies the spirit of the times. Modernism in Germany captured the notion that modern design could act as an agent of change; American design of the postwar era expressed the promise of the jet era; and French design of the 60s responded to the fascination with a space career during the Cold War. When we want to define the greatness of modern design, we are looking for a type of design that in a hundred years those who write history will look at as a representation of our time.

 

Collectible design is characterized by a strong connection between process/material and form; a design that is poetic, full of meaning and content, and although it is functional, function is usually secondary. For curator and scientist Glenn Adamson, the main rule is that in rare cases, when creating any design, "collectible" is mandatory. The writer-designer Pilar Viladas, who always strives for brevity, agrees with him. She defines collectibles as those that come to raise questions, explore materials in a new way, offer comments, pointing to Boulders, a series of granite chairs that modern British designer Max Lamb demonstrated at Salon 94 Design.

 

Collectible modern design was born inside the design gallery, and these are the few pioneering galleries that have taken the lead in discovering, producing, demonstrating and defining its DNA. Carpenters Workshop Gallery, which has three representative offices in Paris, London and New York, has created a program for the presentation and production of new objects by a progressive generation of designers, some of whom came from the Dutch Design Academy in Eindhoven. The director of the gallery Cedric Morisset believes that design reaches the status of "collectibility" when it is sculptural, rare (achieved through the production of single and limited editions), manifested in skill and innovative approach to materials. He emphasizes that this type of design should be poetic, containing an exciting narrative, because history is a mandatory aspect of modern collectible design. Morisset talks about the work of French designer Mathieu Lehanner, who achieved wave and fluidity in a series of marble tables using digital technology for his private show "Liquid Marble" at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

 

Mark Benda, who has become the guru of the world of collectible modern design, daily appeals to designers from all over the world who want to get into the gallery program. Benda speaks of Brooklyn designer Misha Kahn as the embodiment of the essence of collectible modern design. "This is a design without borders, with complete freedom in creativity," and added that those who create collectible modern design strive to express a vision, position or mood, without considering functionality as a limitation. "In reality, the function adds freedom, not restricts it," he concluded.

 

To Richard Wright, founder of Chicago-based auction house Wright and one of the most dynamic personalities in the design world, collectible contemporary design should demonstrate this connection and conversation with the history of design. Mathias Bengtsson embodies all these factors, according to Wright, but also innovations in concept, materials and process.

 

Summing up, we would like to note that when entering the new territory of collectible modern design, the collector must complete a difficult task, which includes the search for greatness in design, the development of understanding in materials, techniques and design poetry. We need to have a constant conversation with the market, and most importantly - a passion for living with the great design of the XXI century.