London’s most important art and design event is back, and 2025 brings a new wave of fresh talent alongside established names. Galleries from across the globe are forging ahead — now in its 17th edition, and running from 14 to 19 October at Berkeley Square in Mayfair, PAD London features 67 international exhibitors. The week-long showcase is unmissable for design aficionados, but our six highlights stand out as must-sees.
Pulp Galerie, Paris
Founded by Paul Ménacer-Poussin and Paul-Louis Betto, this gallery stands for provenance: each piece in house is an opportunity to acquire something rare and previously unseen. This season’s monograph is dedicated to the fascinating and fearless work of Gaetano Pesce, a visionary who consistently challenges aesthetic conventions. Getting an outing are large-scale, quasi-architectural works and distinctive furnishings, like Pesce’s Broadway table and chair and his Nobody’s Perfect sideboard with its irresistibly anthropomorphic forms.
Gallery Fumi, London
Sam Pratt and Valerio Capo grew FUMI organically by connecting to conceptually and aesthetically audacious designers and artists for whom craftsmanship and technique reign supreme. This year, they’ll unveil some of their most striking pieces: functional ceramic chairs by Max Lamb in collaboration with ceramics manufacturer 1882 Ltd, and a design debut by the gallery’s latest artist Jesse Schlesinger of San Francisco. Schlesinger will present a sculpture and furniture series that encapsulates the breadth of his 15-year art-and-design practice.
Nilufar Gallery, Milan
A legendary gallery established by Nina Yashar in Milan, Nilufar stands apart for its exceptional curation of vintage masterpieces. Yashar has packed a compelling selection of designers this autumn, from modernist masters Walter & Moretti to contemporary creations that epitomise modern aesthetics by talents like Flavie Audi. Complementing these is the striking work by Delhi-based, award-winning designer Vikram Goyal, featuring a brass-over-wood console celebrating India’s craftsmanship heritage and material artistry.
Æquō, Mumbai
Tarini Jindal Handa and Florence Louisy are on a mission to provide a global platform for India’s extraordinary artisans. Their gallery Æquō has given over this year’s PAD platform to eight sculptural furnishings by Frédéric Imbert that incorporate two ancestral metal-casting techniques — the lost-wax method and sand-casting. The resulting works are as technically proficient as they are poetic.
Sceners Gallery, Paris
Jonathan Haddad and David Atlan launched Sceners to explore the dialogue between material and immaterial. Creations they carry are born from inquiry and emotion; they evoke memory, sensation and the intangible essence connecting art to experience. Pieces to look out for at PAD include an intricately crafted wooden console with bone inlay by Carlo Bugatti, and a dazzling abstract painting by French artist Jean Degottex, with Ron Arad’s Thick Vac Chair taking centre stage — he first made it in 2006 from mirror-polished aerospace aluminium.
PIK’D,Beirut
PAD London welcomes its first-ever Middle Eastern participants this year, and among the debutants is PIK’D, founded by Randa Missir, who brings together internationally acclaimed artists and Lebanon’s up-and-comers within a singular contemporary gallery. This year’s showcase centres on internationally renowned artists with remarkable creative energy: Ahryun Lee, Michela Cattai, Simone Crestani and Tessa Eastman, alongside local talents Zein Daouk and Andrea Nassar.
