Galerie Liberté;
Galerie Liberté, a new collectible gallery and specialised design showroom, has opened its doors in Luxembourg City.
Bringing together internationally recognised talents Paris-based Wendy Andreu, New York's Umberto Bellardi Ricci (UBR Studio) and Lisbon-based French duo Studio Haos, the Ore group exhibition will inaugurate Luxembourg's first collectible gallery and specialised design showroom.
As reported by the gallery, the exhibition includes recently completed limited-edition, serial and one-off furnishings and accessories that allude back to the Western European nation's deeply rooted and globally impactful industrial heritage: the production of steel long integral to the construction of skyscrapers and other structures around the world. The exhibition will be on view from 12 October 2024 to 15 January 2025
While UBR Studio principal Bellardi Ricci, who was raised in Luxembourg, shrewdly implements the refractive qualities of metal in monumental luminaires, Studio Haos riffs on mechanised production in "crafted" metal tables and armchairs with unexpected proportions. Through extensive hands-on research, Andreu seeks to find innovative uses for long-established craft techniques as well as industrial materials like steel. Operating in different parts of the world and often away from their countries of origin, all three exhibiting studios are able to distil the various sources of inspiration they have encountered in refined yet distinctive designs, according to the gallery.
"These talents exemplify the best in contemporary craft-led design and the ability to reinterpret age-old artisanal techniques in new and relevant applications," said Galerie Liberté founder Françoise Kuth. "Our focus on craft production, a certain knowledge and set of skills, rather than traditional industrial design is how we hope to differentiate ourselves as a gallery and showroom. This also ensures that the tightly curated selection of bold designs we plan to exhibit are idiosyncratic and not replicated by others."
Works on display for the inaugural exhibition will include Studio Haos' Aluminum Coffee Table and Armchair, select pieces from UBR Studio's Spira, Mano and Luca collections, Andreu's Aircraft Table, Staple Console, and 8 Legged Stool On Wheels. The showcase of her tapestries reveals that the Ore exhibition's guiding theme can be expressed in more nuanced ways, with unexpected processes and materials other than metal
Galerie Liberté described it as "opportune" that the gallery should be located in a 1915 Art Nouveau building (on Avenue de la Liberté), considering the theme behind the inaugural Ore exhibition. The proponent of this historicist yet early modern architecture and design style sought to mitigate rapidly advancing industrialisation through much more controlled craft processes and bespoke applications - a preoccupation shared by the show's three exhibitors.
Through various solo and group exhibitions, Galerie Liberté aims to showcase works by emerging and established vanguard talents pushing the limits of material and technique through hands-on craft-led approaches. The gallery added that it seeks to cultivate Luxembourg's collector base by showcasing unparalleled furnishings, luminaires and accessories that are created as one-offs, limited editions and series, offering an alternative to standardised furniture showrooms.
"We present a refined and carefully curated selection of works sourced from around the world that demonstrate singular artisanal approaches to design," noted Françoise Kuth. "The talents I exhibit have had unique trajectories; experiment with both material and technique, but most importantly, harness these explorations in distilled and pared-back results. The creations I showcase can be customised because they aren't mass produced. We endeavor to bring an unmatched, complementary offering to Luxembourg; collectors looking to furnish their homes with beautiful objects that will continue to carry life, value and meaning for many years."
